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IS Unites of Ron a (to. 

-♦- 

THE 

HISTORY OP ENGLAND 

IN VERSE: 

FROM THE CONQUEST BY WILLIAM, jDUKE OF NORMANDY, • 

TO THE REIGN OF OUR 

MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN QUEEN VICTORIA. 

WITH AN APPENDIX, COMPRISING 

A SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER OF EACH MONARCH, 

AND A SUMMARY OF 

THE LEADING EVENTS IN EACH REIGN. 


BY S. BLEWETT. 

u 


JBest'gneB djiefli? to assist goung persons in tljc gttt&p of ^istorp. 


LONDON: 

GRANT AND GRIFFITH, 

SUCCESSORS TO 

J. HARRIS, CORNER OF ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD. 

1849. 



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LONDON: 

Printed by 8. 8c J. Bentley and Henry Fley, 
Bangor House, Shoe Lane. 




PREFACE. 


The Author of the following outline of the History 
of England, having been for some years engaged in the 
tuition of young persons, has invariably observed that 
descriptions in verse, of past or present events, make 
an immediate and lasting impression on the memory, 
whereas, similar subjects in prose are frequently for¬ 
gotten in the space of a few hours, even by pupils 
considerably advanced. 

With parents and teachers who wish to make the 
study of history easy and agreeable to youth, it must 
be an essential object to lay the foundation by such a 
concise general view, as will open the understanding 
and pave the way for works of a more elevated and 
lengthy character. 

To facilitate this object, the following little work 
has been prepared. The principal events in English 





PREFACE. 


iv 

History are related, it is hoped, with simplicity, and 
their connexion preserved with clearness and precision. 

The Author has added, by way of Appendix to the 
Rhymes, a sketch of the character of each monarch, 
and a brief summary, under separate heads, of the 
most striking events connected with each reign. Thus 
he has endeavoured to place the History of England 
before the youthful reader in such a form as will unite 
pleasure with instruction, and, at the same time, prove 
useful as a common-place work to readers of a higher 
class. 

In presenting this little work to the public, the 
Author, trusts it will be found deserving of their ap¬ 
proval and patronage. 


London, August 3 . 1849 . 


ffiJHtUiam Hje ©oitpetot. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 106 S TO A.D. 1087. 


tjirom Normandy Duke William came, 
Distinguish’d by the Bastard’s name , 1 
And on Pevensey’s 2 sea-wash’d strand 
Debark’d his troops, to win the land. 

At Hastings Harold 3 met the foe, 

But England’s King was there laid low; 
The Conqu’ror William gains the day, 
And rules the realm with iron sway, 

For one and twenty years, till death 
In France 4 arrests the monarch’s breath. 


1 He was a natural son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, and 
succeeded to the dukedom at nine years of age. 

2 A small bay near Hastings, in Sussex. 

3 The last of the Saxon Kings. 

4 In the Isle of France, his horse started and gave him a 
bruise, of which he died aged sixty-three years. 


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iSHtUtam Mttfus. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1087 TO A.D. 1100. 


'YHTTIlliam, by name of Rufus 1 known, 

* " The second son, ascends the throne ; 
And seiz’d his brother Robert’s right, 

Who went in mad Crusades 2 to fight; 
While William, not inclin’d to roam, 
Possess’d him of the crown at home; 

But thirteen years conclude his reign, 

By Tyrell’s luckless arrow slain , 3 
As in New Forest’s 4 ample space 
He urg’d the stag in fatal chase. 


1 So called from his red hair. 

2 Great military expeditions undertaken by the Princes 
Europe to drive the infidels from Palestine. 

3 He was killed by an accident while hunting. 

4 The new forest is in Hampshire. 







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3*?fnrg tfje jftrst. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1100 TO A.D. 1135. 


TTENRY the First of warlike deeds, 

■** His brother Rufus now succeeds. 

With great success the crown he wore; 

Call’d Beauclerc from his learned lore ; 
While Robert, from Crusades return’d. 

To mount the throne, his birth-right, burn’d; 
But conquer’d with the loss of eyes, 

A captive Prince at Cardiff dies . 1 
For five-and-thirty years, we ’re told, 

Henry did England’s sceptre hold. 

For his drown’d son , 2 in sorrow griev’d, 

Till sudden death 3 his soul reliev’d. 


1 Cardiff Castle, in Wales, where Robert was confined 
twenty-eight years by his brother Henry. 

2 His only son, Prince William, was shipwrecked, returning 
from Normandy to England. 

3 The King died suddenly at St. Denis, in Normandy, of a 
surfeit of lampreys, aged sixty-seven years. 


















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REIGNED FROM A.D. 1135 TO A.D. 1154. 


gTEPHEN of Blois 1 next seiz’d the throne, 
Which, with address, he made his own ; 
Though Henry order’d by his will, 

His daughter Maud 2 the throne should fill. 
The Empress Maud some battles won, 
Contending for her youthful son ; 

Till ’twas decreed, to end the strife, 

Stephen should wear the crown for life; 

And nineteen years he wisely reign’d, 

When Maud’s young son 3 the empire gain’d. 


1 Stephen was a nephew of Henry, the late King, being the 
son of Adela (daughter of William the Conqueror), and the 
Count de Blois. 

2 Maud, or Matilda, was Henry’s daughter, married to the 
Emperor Henry V. of Germany. 

3 Henry II., A.D. 1154. 


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?hrnrg tije 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1154 TO A.D. 1189. 


JJEnry the Second 1 now appears, 

A King for four-and thirty years ; 
Reforms the state, curbs monkish pride, 
(While Becket 2 for resistance died, 

Who would the regal pow’r pull down,} 
Adds Ireland 3 to the English crown; 
But grief assails King Henry’s mind, 
When Rosamond 4 her life resign’d ; 

And rebel sons 5 perform their part 
To break this royal monarch’s heart. 


1 The first of the royal line of the Plantagenets. 

2 Thomas a-Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was killed 
by some adherents of the King, for insolence to that monarch. 

3 Henry took part with Dermot, King of Leinster, and so 
got a footing in Ireland, 1172. 

4 Fair Rosamond, the King's favourite, said to have been 
poisoned at Woodstock. 

5 Henry, his son, who died before him, and Richard and 
John who succeeded him. 


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Iriicljatii tljc jFtrst. 

REIGNED FROM A.D. 1189 TO A.D. 1199 . 


AT OW CcEUR-DE-LION 1 RlCHARD TOSe 
The First, and terror of his foes. 
Of chivalry the pride and boast, 

Who conquer’d Saladin’s 2 proud host; 
And made the British name renown’d, 
’Midst Saracens on holy ground; 
Returning home , 3 base chiefs detain 
The King, till ransom broke his chain. 
But at the siege of Chaluz kill’d, 

His course of honour he fulfill’d. 

By Bertram Gourdan’s arrow slain, 

Ten years conclude his warlike reign. 


1 He was surnamed Coeur-de-lion, or the Lion-hearted, from 
his undaunted bravery. 

2 Emperor of the Saracens. 

3 Returning home in disguise, the Duke of Austria recog¬ 
nised him, and betrayed him to the Emperor, who kept him a 
prisoner, until he was discovered by the music of his harp, and 
ransomed. 


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Jtoljn. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1199 TO A.D. 1216 . 


TTis brother John the sway assumes, 
And on despotic acts presumes ; 
Curs’d with a heart that could not feel, 
His nephew’s 1 blood defiles his steel. 
Against the Church he next contends, 
But baffled, to the Pontiff bends ; 2 
And as a vassal from his hands, 

Receives his crown and forfeit lands. 

The Barons bold next made him sign 
Our Magna Charta, —shield divine! 
This King, for vice and weakness known, 
For eighteen years disgrac’d the throne . 3 


1 Prince Arthur, •whom he had made prisoner in the castle 
of Falaise. 

2 John actually did homage to Pope Innocent. III. for the 
crown of England, and signed a paper, resigning England 
and Ireland to the Holy See. 

3 He died at Newark, aged fifty years. 


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It) cnr!> tljp 

REIGNED FROM A.D. 1216 TO A.D. 1272. 


ttenry the Third his sire succeeds , 1 
A Prince of no heroic deeds ; 

But weak and vain, to fav’rites prone, 
Commotions shook this monarch’s throne ; 
Ambitious Montford , 2 every hour 
Encroaching on the royal pow’r, 

At length the King a pris’ner led ; 

Till Glo’ster and Prince Edward fled 
To arms ; and Montford, on the plain 
Of Evesham , 3 was subdu’d, and slain. 
This Henry reign’d, as it appears, 

The length of six-and-fifty years. 


1 He began his reign at nine years of age. 

2 Simon de Montford, Earl of Leicester, the King’s brother- 
in-law. 

2 At the battle of Evesham, Leicester placed the King in 
the front, against his own forces, and he was on the point of 
being killed, when he exclaimed, “ I am Henri/ of Winchester 
your King /” and he was saved. 

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3£titoaiii tlje jfirst. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1272 TO A.D. 1307. 


ttidward the First, who bravely shone 
In Palestine , 1 ascends the throne. 

He made the Scottish forces yield 
To England’s arms the conquer’d field; 
But stain’d his laurels when he gave 
Brave Wallace 2 an ignoble grave. 

The Welch to England’s pow’r he broke , 3 
But Scottish Bruce still spurn’d his yoke. 
At length contending health decays, 

And dire disease ends Edward’s days ; 4 
Who five-and-thirty years had reign’d, 

And w r ell his country’s rights maintain’d. 


1 Edward, while in the Holy Land, was wounded in the arm 
by a poisoned dagger, but his Queen, Eleanor, saved his life 
by sucking the poison from the wound. 

2 A brave Scottish patriot, beheaded a.d. 1305. 

3 A. D. 1282—3. 

4 He died at Carlisle, aged sixty-nine years. 


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JStitoartr tfjc joeconir. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1307 TO A.D. 1327. 


mHE Second Edward rules the realm, 
With vice and weakness at the helm ; 
By Gavestone, his bold favorite, led, 

Till that proud Gascon lost his head; 

While Robert Bruce, at Bannockburn , 1 
Gives Edward’s arms an adverse turn. 

The Spencers all his favour shar’d, 

Till Civil War its banner rear’d : 

The Spencers 2 fell before the storm, 

And captive Edward’s tortur’d form 3 
In Berkeley’s walls, midst shrieks and tears, 
Concludes a reign of twenty years. 


1 This battle was fought a.d. 1315. 

2 Their chief crime consisted in being favourites. 

3 Edward was put to a cruel death by Maltravers and Gour- 
nay, his keepers, who passed a red-hot iron into his body. 


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iSUinartr tfjc 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1327 TO A.D. 13/7. 


mdward the Third succeeds his sire, 
A Prince possessed of martial fire ; 
His manly vigour quickly shows, 

Subduing French and Scottish foes ; 1 
While his immortal son 2 appears 
Victor at Cressy 3 and Poictiers , 4 
His gallant Queen defeats with loss 
The Scottish King at Neville’s Cross . 5 
The people well their rights maintain’d, 
And settled Parliaments obtain’d. 

Prince Edward dies, his sire declines, 

And soon at Richmond life resigns . 6 


1 At the battle of Halidown-hill the Scots were totally de¬ 
feated, and Berwick annexed to the English crown. 

a Edward the Black Prince. 

3 The French lost thirty thousand men. 

4 John King of France taken prisoner and brought to 
England, where he died in 1364. 

5 Near the city of Durham, where David Bruce, King of 
Scots, was taken prisoner. 

6 In the fifty-first year of his reign. 


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I&icfjavtr tije *eronti. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1377 TO A.D. 1399. 


T) ICHARD the Second mounts the throne 1 
^-^His grandsire’s 2 death now made his own : 
Wat Tyler’s mob, in clam’rous strain, 
Disturb’d this monarch’s op’ning reign, 

Till Walworth 3 knock’d the rebel down ; 

But cruel acts 4 disgrace the Crown ! 

Percy 5 and Lancaster 6 rebel, 

With force which Richard could not quell; 
And soon entangled in their chains, 

His blood the tower of Pomfret 7 stains! 


1 In the eleventh year of his age. 

2 He was the son of Edward the Black Prince. 

3 William Walworth, Mayor of London. 

4 Richard ordered his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, to be 
put to death, and banished the Duke of Norfolk and Earl of 
Hereford. 

5 Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur. 

6 Hereford, on the death of his father, John of Gaunt, be¬ 
came Duke of Lancaster, and usurped the Crown, a.d. 1399. 

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7 Richard was murdered by Sir Pierce Exton, in the thirty- 
fourth year of his age, at Pontefract Castle. 


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I&etirg tf)c jFmtrtfj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1399 TO A.D. 1413. 


'T’TThile thus unhappy Richard bleeds, 

* * Henry the Fourth, his foe, succeeds, 
Of Lancaster’s 1 imperious race. 

This proud usurper hurl’d disgrace 
On Percy, who procur’d him power ; 

But Percy, leaguing with Glendower , 2 
Defy’d the King on Shrewsb’ry’s plain, 

And there the Percy bold was slain. 

This King with sorrow sees his son 3 
A course of dissipation run ; 

For fourteen years the sceptre sways, 

A leprosy then ends his days . 4 


1 Formerly Earl of Hereford. 

2 A descendant of the Welsh Princes. 

3 Prince Henry, a libertine in his youth, but afterwards 
reformed. He is represented by Shakspeare as FalstafFs 
companion. 

4 He died in the Jerusalem Chamber, at Westminster, ol 
leprosy, in the forty-sixth year of his age. 


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$enrg tije jFiftlj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1413 TO A.D. 1422. 


TTENry the Fifth succeeds his sire, 
And though a youth of wanton fire, 
He strives his honour to redeem , 1 
And gains the national esteem ; 

On Agincourt’s 2 decisive field 
He won the lilies for his shield, 

And made the conquer’d French declare, 
Him to their Crown undoubted heir ; 
Receiv’d their Princess for his bride, 

And in the midst of glory died . 3 


1 In his father's lifetime he had been remarkable for his 
idle and disorderly conduct. 

2 This battle was fought a.d. 1415. The French had 
one hundred thousand healthy troops, the English about nine 
thousand, enfeebled by disease ; but the French were defeated, 
with the loss of ten thousand killed, and fourteen thousand 
prisoners, while the English loss was below one hundred men. 

3 In the thirty-fourth year of his age, and the tenth of his 


reign. 


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I^eurg tije 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1422 TO A.D. 146l. 


ttenry the Sixth, of infant years , 1 

Ascends the throne, while Bedford 2 steers 
The helm of State; hut Joan of Arc 3 * 
In France made all his prospects dark. 

And as in manhood Henry rose, 

Jack Cade 4, occasion’d civil woes : 

Aspiring York attempts to gain 
The throne; but is at Wakefield slain. 

His equally ambitious son, 

Young Edward, Towton’s battle won ; 5 
And mounts the seat of regal power. 

Confining Henry in the Tower. 


1 He ascended the throne when nine months old. 

2 The Duke of Bedford was appointed Regent. 

3 A peasant girl, pretending a divine mission, headed the 
French army, and defeated the English ; but was taken and 
cruelly put to death as a witch, by Bedford’s order. 

1 A rebel, who raised an insurrection in London ; he was 
afterwards killed in Kent. 

5 Thirty-six thousand men were killed in this battle. 




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JBiitoatir tfje jFouttfj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1461 TO A.D. 1483. 


"T71DWARD the Fourth now wears the crown, 
By Warwick 1 rais’d, who pulls him down, 
And Henry rules the land again, 

Till Warwick’s at St. Alban’s slain. 

Edward regains the seat of power, 

And sends hack Henry to the Tower ; 

But Henry’s Queen, in arms, now came 
To Tewkesbury, to assert her claim ; 

Her captur’d son, of tender age, 

And Henry, fall by Glo’ster’s rage . 2 
Clarence , 3 by Edward’s order, dies; 

But Edward soon death’s victim lies . 4 


1 This Earl of Warwick was called the “ king-maker ” 

2 Richard Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III., is 
said to have murdered the young Prince, and also his father 
Henry. 

3 Clarence, Edward’s brother, was drowned in a cask of 
Malmsey wine, his favourite liquor. 

4 Edward died in the forty-second year of his age. 


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lEfctoatii tije jfiftfj* 


REIGNED FROM APRIL 9 TO JUNE 26 , 1483, 


"[TiDWARD the Fifth, a child in years , 1 
Upon the English throne appears; 
While haughty Glo’ster 2 hears command, 
And as Protector rules the land ; 

But, aiming at the sov’reign power, 

He murders Hastings 3 in the Tower ; 
And makes the hapless wife of Shore 4 
A mendicant from door to door ; 

Then in the Tower with dark designs 
The King 5 and Duke of York confines; 
And there with barbarous heart destroys 
The unoffending Royal boys. 


1 At thirteen years of age. 

2 Afterwards Richard the Third. 

3 He was beheaded without trial, on a ridiculous charge of 
witchcraft. 

4 Jane Shore had been the mistress of Edward the Fourth. 

5 This unfortunate young King and his brother, were smo¬ 
thered in the Tower of London, by the secret command of 
Richard. 


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iiiidjavti tf)c 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1483 TO A.D. 1485. 


mHis cruel tyrant mounts the throne, 

By fraud and murder made his own ! 

False Buckingham , 1 for selfish ends, 

At first this wicked King defends; 

Till, slighted, straight to arms he fled, 

And soon at Salisbury lost his head. 

But Richmond 2 next appears in arms, 

And shakes the tyrant with alarms. 

On Bosworth’s field, midst rage and strife, 

Th’ usurper Richard lost his life ! 3 
And rival Roses , 4 party zeal, 

No more disturb the kingdom’s weal. 

1 Buckingham was betrayed by his own servant, and be¬ 
headed without any legal process. 

2 The Earl of Richmond was descended, by the female line, 
from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. 

3 Thus ended the Royal line of the Plantagenets, which 
began with Henry the Second, and possessed the English 
crown three hundred and thirty years. 

4 The rival houses of York and Lancaster were distin¬ 
guished by a white and red rose. 

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f^enrg tfje S'Cbentfj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1485 TO A.D. 1509. 


T) ichmon d ascends, the helm to guide, 

And from fork’s house 1 selects his bride : 
Thus Henry prudently combines 
The two contending Royal lines. 

A false pretender shortly came, 

A baker’s boy , 2 in Warwick’s name. 

Another rash impostor 3 comes, 

And he the name of York assumes ; ’ 

But soon this rebel was oppos’d, 

And Tyburn his ambition clos’d. 

Henry was prudent, wise, and brave, 

The gout consign’d him to the grave . 4 

1 Elizabeth, daughter of Henry the Fourth. 

2 Lambert Simnel. His forces were subdued at Stoke- 
upon-Trent; he was taken, and made a scullion in the King’s 
kitchen. 

3 Perkin Warbeck personated the Duke of York, whom 
Richard had caused to be murdered ; he was hanged at 
Tyburn. Both impostors came from the Duchess of Burgundy. 

4 Henry died in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, aged 
fifty-two. 


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f^cnrg ti)t ISIgfjtfj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1509 TO A.D. 1547. 


-TT-THILE haughty Wolsey 1 guides the helm, 
The sensual Henry rules the realm ; 
And, tir’d of Cath’rine , 2 hastes to wed 
Fair Boleyn, who soon lost her head. 

The power of Rome he then defied , 3 4 
And took Jane Seymour for his bride ; 

And on her death chose Anne of Cleves, 

But, soon divorc’d, this consort leaves. 

To Cath’rine Howard he applies, 

She on the scaffold shortly dies; 

While Cath’rine Parr succeeding reigns, 

Till death the tyrant’s rage restrains. 


1 Cardinal Wolsey, afterwards disgraced, died at Leicester 
Abbey in 1509. 

2 He divorced Catherine of Arragon, who was his first 
wife, because she had been the wife of his elder brother. 

3 The Reformation commenced, a.d. 1520. 

4 Henry died a.d. 1547, aged fifty-six, after a reign of 
thirty-eight years. 


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lEtitoarti tfje SMrtij. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1547 TO A.D. 1553. 


T71DWARD the Sixth, of tender age, 
Succeeds 1 his sire of ruthless rage : 

While Somerset conducts the state, 

And strives to check religious hate ; 2 
Warwick against his pow’r conspires, 

And, much belov’d, the Duke expires . 3 
Warwick assumes a high command, 

And title of Northumberland ; 

Then makes the sickly King declare 
Jane Grey the kingdom’s legal heir ; 4 
And for his son 5 secures this bride, 

While Edward, much lamented, died. 6 

1 In the ninth year of his age. 

2 He sent Bonner and Gardiner to the Tower. 

3 Somerset was executed on Tower-hill, a.d. 1552. 

4 Mary and Elizabeth, the King’s sisters, were declared ille¬ 
gitimate by their father’s will. 

5 His son was the Lord Guilford Dudley, married to Lady 
Jane Grey. 

6 Edward died 6th July, 1553, in the sixteenth year of his 
age, and seventh of his reign. 


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©ucm jWarg. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1553 TO A.D. 1558. 


Jane Grey, Northumberland proclaims, 
But Mary 1 soon her birth-right gains ; 
She marries Philip, Prince of Spain, 

And marks with blood her cruel reign ! 

A party ventur’d to rebel, 

But Wyatt, their bold leader, fell. 

Jane Grey and Dudley next expire , 2 
While sacred victims 3 feed her fire. 

Till stung by Philip’s proud disdain, 
Disease and grief conclude her reign . 4 


1 Mary, the daughter of Henry the Eighth, by Catherine of 
Arragon. 

2 Lady Jane Grey and her husband were beheaded on Tower- 
hill, within one hour of each other. 

3 She released the popish bishops, Gardiner and Bonner, 
from the Tower, while Cranmer and Hooper, Ridley and Lati¬ 
mer, with scores of other victims, were burned in Smithfield 
and other places. 

4 Queen Mary died in the forty-third year of her age, and 
sixth of her reign. 


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©ueeu 3Hluat>etf). 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1558 TO A.D. 1603. 


-jtilizabeth , 1 in Mary’s room, 

Succeeds, and soon dispels the gloom 
Of bigot rage ; reforms the State, 

While Scotland boils with civil heat; 

Mary, their Queen, to England fled, 

Was long confin’d, and lost her head . 2 
The great Armada sent by Spain, 

Was vanquish’d in this glorious reign. 

The Queen’s regard on Essex shone, 

He slights her favour, threats the throne, 

Till on the scaffold 3 doom’d to smart, 

His hasty sentence broke her heart . 4 

1 Sister to the late Queen. 

2 Mary Queen of Scots was confined eighteen years in 
Fotheringay Castle, and there beheaded, in February, 1587, 
by order of Elizabeth. 

3 Essex had received a ring from the Queen as a pledge of 
her favour, which he sent her by the Countess of Nottingham, 
who never delivered it to Elizabeth; thinking him obstinate, 
she suffered him to be executed. 

4 Queen Elizabeth died at the age of seventy, having reigned 
forty-five years. 


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James tije jTirst 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1603 TO A.D. 1625. 


nnHE Scottish King 1 to England’s throne 
Succeeding, claims it as his own. 

But soon conspiracies appear, 

Exciting jealousy and fear; 

And Guy Fawkes, with his powder 2 train, 

In memory will long remain. 

Prince Charles in Spain first seeks a wife, 

But Henrietta 3 takes for life. 

Great Raleigh’s on the scaffold slain , 4 

Victim of Court intrigues with Spain. 

The Commons wound the monarch’s pride. 

He of a tertian ague died . 5 

1 James the Sixth of Scotland, son of the unfortunate Mary, 
united the two Crowns, as James the First of England. 

2 This was a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parlia¬ 
ment while the King was present. 

3 A French princess. 

4 Lords Grey and Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh had 
been accused of conspiracy; the two former were pardoned, 
but Raleigh, after long imprisonment, was executed to please 
the King of Spain. 

5 In the twenty-second year of his reign. 

















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ffifjarles tljc jftrst 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1625 TO A.D. 1649 . 


/^harles the First, in evil hour, 

Assumes the reins of sov’reign power ; 
Strains ev’ry nerve supplies to gain, 

And luckless fights with France and Spain. 
While Buckingham , 1 his fav’rite, dies; 
Illegally 2 he gets supplies ! 

Dismiss’d his Parliament with pride, 

And on Star-Chamber 3 power relied. 

The King and Commons now contend, 

And Strafford 4 5 falls, the monarch’s friend. 
His army vanquish’d , 3 fav’rites dead, 

King Charles was tried, and lost his head ! 6 


1 Assassinated at Portsmouth by one Felton. 

2 Without the consent of the Parliament. 

3 A court independent of any law. 

4 The Earl of Strafford was impeached by the Commons of 
high treason, and beheaded, a.d. 1641. 

5 By the Parliamentary forces at the Battle of Naseby. 

6 The King was beheaded at Whitehall, 30th January, 
1649, aged forty-nine years ; reigned twenty-four. 


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(ttwuntoell, 


AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
FROM A.D. 1619 TO A.D. 1660 . 

romwell, 1 who gain’d the chief command, 



Was call’d Protector of the land! 

In Ireland crush’d the royal cause; 

To Scotland next his army draws. 

He there puts Charles’s arms to rout, 

And then to England turns about; 

And at fam’d Wor’ster’s fatal fight 
Defeats and puts the King to flight . 2 
To power despotic now he rose, 

But humbled England’s foreign foes ! 

/ 

Dissolv’d the Parliament with pride ; 

At length this bold usurper died . 3 
Richard, his son, succeeds, but flies 
From power, and in seclusion dies . 4 

1 Oliver Cromwell, son of a gentleman in Huntingdonshire 

2 Charles the Second escaped to France. 

3 A.D. 1658, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the nintl 
of his usurpation. 

4 Richard died at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, a.d. 1712. 


51 


4 
















































(Ztfjarles tlje ^ecmtu. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1660 TO A.D. 1685 . 


Xj Y Monk 1 restor’d, King Charles regains 
Accession to the throne, and reigns 
Belov’d by some, though censur’d much ; 

He married Kate , 2 and fought the Dutch! 
Then peace concluded with his foes: 

And Clarendon 3 in exile goes. 

A proud Cabal assumes command, 

And dark designs 4 disturb the land; 

While England wept and Freedom sigh’d, 
Russell and Sydney nobly died! 

The King himself, with care worn down, 
Expires , 5 and leaves to York the Crown. 


1 General Monk, afterwards created Duke of Albemarle. 

2 Catherine, a Princess of Portugal. 

3 Lord Chancellor. 

4 A pretended plot of Titus Oates ; another, called the 
Meal-tub Plot; and a real one called the Rye-house Plot, for 
which Lord W. Russell and Algernon Sydney were beheaded. 

5 Aged fifty-five, in the twenty-fifth of his reign. 


53 























































James ti)t Second. 


* 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1685 TO A.D. 1689 . 


■iv tow James 1 the Second mounts the throne, 
And soon his Popish zeal makes known. 
Young Monmouth 2 arms, on Seclgemoor’s field, 
But to the scaffold’s doom’d to yield; 

While Kirke and Jeffreys , 3 England’s shame, 
Disgrace the soldier’s, judge’s name. 

Flush’d with success, the King proceeds 

To introduce his Popish creeds ; 4 

While monks and jesuits round him throng, 

He finds, too late, he ’s acted wrong; 

Is forc’d to abdicate and fly , 5 
In France an exil’d King to die. 


1 Duke of York, brother to the late King. 

2 Monmouth was an illegitimate son of Charles II. 

3 A barbarous commander, and a sanguinary judge. 

4 He endeavoured by the vilest treachery and breach of 
faith, to re-establish the Roman Catholic religion. 

5 He abdicated the thione and fled to France, a.d. 1689, 
having reigned four years. He died in 1701, aged sixty- 
eight. 


55 




















- 

■ if /1 



















. 

% 


















astilliam attir JUarg. 


REIGNED TOGETHER FROM A.D. 1689 TO A.D. 1694. 
WILLIAM ALONE, A.D. 1694 TO A.D. i;02. 


illiam the Third, of Nassau’s House, 



With Royal Mary 1 as his spouse, 
As King and Queen their sceptres join, 
Whilst James is routed at the Boyne . 2 
At Killycrankie’s 3 famous fight, 

The vanquish’d Scots are put to flight; 
And William reigns with great applause, 
Confirming England’s rights and laws! 

His Queen expires ; he reigns alone, 

And adds new splendour to the throne ; 
Defeats the French 4 upon the main, 

And, crown’d with glory, clos’d his reign . 5 


1 William Prince of Orange, and Mary, daughter of James 
the Second, the late King. 

2 The battle of the Boyne, in Ireland, a.d. 1690. 

3 The battle of Killycrankie, a.d. 1691. 

4 At the battle of La Hogue, a.d. 1692. 

5 The King died of a fall from his horse, a.d. 1702, in the 
fifty-second year of his age, having reigned thirteen years. 

















































<®tteen Slime. 


REIGNED FROM A D. 1702 TO A.D. 1714. 


rpHE British Crown to Anne 1 descends, 

And well its honour she defends. 

To George of Denmark soon we find, 

This Queen in happy marriage join’d. 
Marlborough the brave receives command, 

And beats the French 2 upon the land; 

While Rooke and Shovel nobly gain 
Complete dominion o’er the main. 

This Queen gave Spanish pride a shock, 

Her forces took Gibraltar’s rock : 

But factions plagu’d her latter end ; 

While Whigs and Tories 3 fierce contend, 

She dies 4 amidst the party flames 
Of Brunswick’s right and Stuart’s claims. 

1 The Princess Anne, a sister of the late Queen Mary. 

2 At the battles of Ramilies, Blenheim, Oudenarde, and 
Malplaquet. 

3 The disputes of the Whigs and Tories are said to have 
embittered and shortened the Queen’s days. 

4 In the fiftieth year of her age and thirteenth of her reign. 
She was the last sovereign of the House of Stuart. 


59 





- 







































* 




- 



©wrge tfje jFtrst. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1714 TO A.D. 1727 . 


rpo George the First, 1 of Brunswick’s race, 
The factious Tories now give place. 

He mounts the throne by legal right, 

Resolv’d against his foes to fight; 

While party feuds and furious zeal, 

For diff’rent interests still prevail. 

He lays the fiend Rebellion low, 

And triumphs over ev’ry foe. 

Mars the Pretender’s 2 rash designs, 

And rebel Lords 3 to death consigns; 

And making peace with France and Spain, 

At Osnaburgh concludes his reign . 4 

1 George, the Elector of Hanover, succeeded as the next Pro¬ 
testant heir, by the “ Act of Settlement.” 

8 The son of James the Second. 

3 The Earls of Derwentwater and Kenmuir, and a number 
of other gentlemen, were beheaded ; and above one thousand 
persons were transported to North America. 

4 The King was taken ill on a visit to his German States, 
and died a.d. 1727, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and 

thirteenth of his reign. * 

* 61 


















. 






































©rcrrge tfje Sseconti. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1727 TO A.D. 176 O. 


1\T ow George the Second 1 rules the land, 
And war displays its fiery brand! 

While Walpole’s 2 councils ably guide, 

He hurls defeat on Spanish pride; 

The King compels the French to yield, 

At Dettingen’s 3 immortal field. 

The young Pretender spreads alarms 
In Scotland, with victorious arms; 

But soon Culloden’s 4 dreadful fight 
Constrains the youth to take his flight. 

Great Pitt 5 directs the helm, admir’d, 

Till George, esteem’d by al], expir’d . 6 


1 Son of the late King. 

2 Afterwards Earl of Orford. 

3 In 1742-3, fought by the King in person. 

4 This battle was fought and won by the King’s son, the 
Duke of Cumberland. 

5 Afterwards Earl of Chatham. 

6 The King died at Kensington, a.d. 1760, aged seventy- 
seven, in the thirty-fourth year of his reign. 






























































CKeorge tlj t Ojirtr. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. i;60 TO A.D. 1820. 


oung George the Third , 1 a Briton born, 
The royal honours now adorn. 

Chatham retires, and Bute succeeds, 

And Wilkes in factious mood proceeds. 

George Gordon’s mobs spread dire alarms, 
America revolts in arms ! 

And France and Spain afford her aid, 

Till she is free, and peace is made. 

Belov’d at home, this Sov’reign’s reign 
Secures the empire of the main ; 

And though she mourn’d for statesmen 2 dead, 
And warriors 3 who so nobly bled, 

Britannia still her hope maintain’d, 

Her valiant sons the throne sustain’d. 


1 Son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and grandson of 
George the Second. 

2 Fox and Pitt. 

3 Nelson and Abercrombie. 


65 




GEORGE THE THIRD. 


Courageous Wellington arose , 4 

And crush’d Napoleon and our foes: 

From Waterloo 5 th’ usurper fled, 

And Peace again exalts her head ! 

' A 

Now, follow’d by a nation’s tears, 

The Princess Charlotte 6 disappears; 

A mother’s hope, a husband’s pride. 

Old England’s youthful heiress died. 

At length King George’s health 7 decays, 

The Prince of Wales the sceptre sways ; 8 

Till spent with age, and claim’d by death, 

At Windsor he resigns his breath . 9 

4 Sir Arthur Wellesley, created Duke of Wellington for his 
victories in the Peninsula. 

5 This memorable battle was commenced on the 16th, and 
ended on the 18th June, 1815. 

0 Daughter and only child of George Prince of Wales, after¬ 
wards George IV., and heiress to the throne. 

7 The King’s intellectual faculties were entirely suspended 
many years before his death. 

8 The Prince of Wales had been appointed Regent of the 
kingdom during his father’s indisposition. 

9 January 20th, 1820, in the eighty-second year of his age, 
and sixtieth of his reign. 

66 




CGeorge tfje Jfourtf). 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1820 TO A.D. 1830. 


npHE Regent 1 now ascends the throne, 
With regal pomp before unknown ! 
His Royal Consort’s 2 doom’d to feel 
The weight of his malignant zeal. 

Before her peers, for crimes arraign’d, 
By none but base traducers nam’d ; 

She through the ordeal nobly goes, 

And triumphs over all her foes ! 

This reign at home was much distress’d, 
Commercial tumults 3 scarce suppress’d, 
When Indian broils and Turkish spite 
Call forth our sons again to fight; 


1 George Prince of Wales, son of the late King. 

2 He had married, in 1795, his cousin the Princess Caroline 
Elizabeth, of Brunswick. In 1820 she was charged with having 
committed acts of impropriety with an Italian servant, while 
in Italy ; and at her trial in the House of Lords, false evidence 
of the vilest description was brought against her; but it was 
entirely disproved, and the charge was abandoned. 

3 The year 1825 was a period of great commercial distress. 

67 




GEORGE THE FOURTH. 


But Campbell and Codrington maintain 
Our sway o’er India, and the main . 4 5 
The State improv’d, and factions heal’d, 
The odious Test Acts 6 were repeal’d ; 
And George, at length, with hesitation, 
Gave Romanists emancipation . 6 
Now George his course of life had run, 
Disease and weakness weigh’d him down : 
In ancient Windsor’s stately halls 
The monarch soon death’s victim falls . 7 


4 General Campbell invaded the Burmese empire, in the 
East Indies, and compelled it to surrender, 1826 ; and Admiral 
Codrington defeated the Turks at Navarino, 1827. 

5 These Acts deprived dissenters of many political privileges. 

6 The Catholic Relief Bill passed, 13th April, 1829. 

7 June 26th, 1830, aged sixty-eight, in the eleventh year of 
his reign. 


03 




SSHtUtatn tfje jFmtrtfj. 


REIGNED FROM A.D. 1830 TO A.D. 1837. 


'^yy'iLLiAM , 1 the sailor’s boast and pride, 
f Succeeds, with Adelaide his bride; 
And with a patriot’s heart and hand, 
Reforms the Senate 2 of the land ! 

At home he grants his people’s claims, 
And well his dignity maintains ; 

Freedom reveres, and with his pen 
Emancipates his fellow men ! 3 
This reign entire with peace was bless’d, 
The nation’s sword was gone to rest; 

And King and Queen, with grace arrayed, 
Just seven years the sceptre sway’d. 
Admir’d abroad, belov’d at home, 
William descended to the tomb . 4 


1 William Henry, Duke of Clarence, 3rd son of George III. 

2 The Reform Bill received Royal assent, 7th June, 1832. 

3 The abolition of negro slavery in all the British dominions 
was secured by Act of Parliament, 1st August, 1834. 

On the 20th June, 1837, and was buried at Windsor. 

69 


4 
































. . 

' 



























©ueen Victoria. 


Ascended the Throne June 20th, 1837. 


■qrincess Victoria , 1 now a Queen ! 

■*" Ascends the throne with graceful mien. 
Three years alone the sceptre wields, 

And then her hand in marriage yields, 

To Albert , 2 a Prince of Cobourg’s line, 

In whom illustrious virtues shine: 

And mutual love, with talents rare, 
Combine to bless this royal pair! 
Melbourne First Minister appears, 

And leads the councils of the Peers; 

While Russell takes the chief command 
Amid the Commons of the land. 

Now Peel’s appointed to the helm, 

And guides the councils of the realm: 


1 Daughter and only child of Edward Duke of Kent, fourth 
son of George III., and brother to the two last kings. 

2 Son of the then reigning Duke of Saxe Cobourg Gotha, 
and cousin to her Majesty Queen Victoria. Her Majesty and 
the Prince were married 10th of February, 1840. 


7i 




QUEEN VICTORIA. 


To Trade and Commerce aid extends, 
His country’s interests well defends. 
Russell to high command returns, 
O’Connell dies , 3 old Erin mourns; 
Rebellion’s blood-red banner waves, 
Her sons are doom’d t’ ignoble graves ! 4 
The potent arm of law maintains 
Its power!— and Ireland peace regains. 
While Revolutions 5 shake the world, 
Old England’s peaceful flag unfurl’d, 
Braves all the storms of adverse fate, 
Great Britain still preserves her State ! 


3 The celebrated Daniel O’Connell died at Genoa, on his 
way to Rome, a.d. 1847. 

4 A Rebellion broke out in Ireland in 1848 ; the Habeas 
Corpus Act was suspended, and several persons were convicted 
and transported for sedition. Five persons were convicted and 
condemned to death for high treason. 

5 The Revolutions in France, Austria, Prussia, Italy, and 
other parts of the world, .a.d. 1848 and 1849. 


72 




QUEEN VICTORIA. 


O’er India’s climes our arms succeed, 

In conquest only Britons bleed ! 

Our lovely Queen, with offspring bless’d, 
Gives joy to ev’ry loyal breast; 

And Brunswick’s line on England’s throne 
’Secur’d to ages yet unknown. 

Still o’er Old Albion’s isle she reigns, 
Example to all future queens: 

Long may she reign, till call’d above, 
Unrivall’d in her people’s love. 



7 3 





























' 


































APPENDIX, 


COMPRISING 

A SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER OF EACH MONARCH, 

AND A SUMMARY OF 

THE LEADING EVENTS IN EACH REIGN. 


CHARACTER OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 

William was a prince of great courage, capacity, 
and ambition ; be was stern, obdurate, and revengeful; 
but of a vigorous and commanding spirit. He was 
fond of glory, and though not insensible to generosity, 
he was hardened against compassion ; and he appeared 
ostentatious, and ambitious of show and parade, equally 
in his clemency and in his severity. His aspect was 
noble, his stature tall and portly, and his strength so 
great, that few men of that age could bend his bow or 
handle his arms. Though very far from being one of 
the best, he was probably one of the greatest of the 
English monarclis. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

William was the natural son of Robert, Duke of Nor¬ 
mandy, by Arlotta, the daughter of a furrier in Falaise, 
and was very early established in that grandeur, from 
which his birth seemed to have set him at so great a 
distance. He was only ten years of age, when, upon 
the death of his father, in a pilgrimage to the Holy 

75 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 


Land, in 1035, he succeeded to the duchy; having re¬ 
ceived the allegiance of the States, and been acknow¬ 
ledged successor to Robert, prior to that prince’s de¬ 
parture. Some years afterwards he paid a visit to 
Edward the Confessor, who treated him with great 
respect, and made a tour with him through England. 

Edward the Confessor dying without issue, was said 
to have appointed him his heir; and William soon after 
landed at Pevensey, in Sussex, with a powerful army, 
and proceeded to Hastings. Harold, the reigning prince, 
marched to oppose him, and a severe battle ensued on 
the 14th of October, 1066, in which William obtained 
a complete victory, though he had three horses killed 
under him, and lost a great number of his troops. 
Harold was killed, with many of the nobility, and 
nearly 30,000 soldiers. 

William pretended that he came to revenge the 
death of Prince Alfred, brother to King Edward ; to 
restore Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, to his see ; 
and to obtain the crown as his right, it having been 
bequeathed to him by Edward the Confessor. 

The latter part of William’s life was disturbed by a 
rebellion of his son Robert, who having been promised 
the dukedom of Normandy, demanded the fulfilment 
of this promise in his father’s lifetime. William gave 
him a flat denial, observing that “ it was not his custom 
to throw off his clothes till he went to bed.” An open 
quarrel was the consequence; and after a contest of 
several years, Robert was besieged by his father in the 
castle of Gerberoy, in France. The garrison was 
strong; and many skirmishes took place. In one of 
these, the King and his son met, and, without knowing 

each other, engaged with fury. Robert wounded his 
76 


WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 


father in the arm, and unhorsed him : the next blow 
would probably have been fatal, had not the King made 
himself known by calling for help. Robert, shocked 
at the dreadful crime he was on the point of commit¬ 
ting, threw himself at his father’s feet, and implored 
forgiveness. William sternly withdrew; but afterwards, 
moved by his son’s conduct, restored him to favour. 

William’s death happened while on an expedition 
against the King of France, who had offended him by 
invading Normandy, and privately supporting some of 
the rebellious nobility. It was occasioned by a bruise 
in the abdomen, against the pommel of his horse’s 
saddle. He died in a village near Rouen, on the 9 th 
of September, 1087, in the sixty-fourth year of his 
age, after reigning fifty-two years in Normandy, and 
twenty-one in England. 

He was interred at Caen; and a remarkable circum¬ 
stance occurred at his funeral. As the body was being 
carried to the grave, a man who stood by, in a loud 
voice forbade its interment in a spot which the deceased 
had unjustly seized. “That very spot,” he cried, “is 
the site of my father’s house; and I summon the 
departed soul before the divine tribunal, to answer for 
the crime.” All present were struck by this solemn 
appeal; and the man’s charge being found to be just, 
he immediately received satisfaction for the wrong. 

London’s First Charter. —It is a remarkable fact, 
that the conditions on which the citizens of London 
consented to William’s assumption of the crown of 
England, formed the subject of a written charter, the 
first they ever possessed. It consists of only four lines, 
on a bit of parchment six inches long and one broad. 
The following is a literal translation of this interesting 

77 


WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 


document, which is preserved with great care among 
the civic archives in Guildhall. 

“William the king, friendly salutes William the 
bishop, and Godfrey the portreve,* and all the burgesses 
within London, both French and English. And I de¬ 
clare that I grant you to be all law-worthy, as you were 
in the days of King Edward. And I will that every 
child shall be his father’s heir, after his father’s days; 
and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong. God 
keep you.” 

Domesday-Book. —In 1081, King William caused to 
be made a general survey of all the lands in his king¬ 
dom, their extent in each district, their proprietors, 
tenures and value; and in some counties, the number 
of tenants, cottagers, and slaves, of all denominations, 
who lived upon them. He appointed commissioners for 
this purpose, who entered every particular in their regis¬ 
ter, by the verdict of juries ; and after a labour of six 
years, brought him an exact account of all the landed 
property in his kingdom. This great work, called 
“Domesday-Book,” the most valuable piece of anti¬ 
quity possessed by any nation, is still preserved in the 
British Museum ; and serves to illustrate to us in many 
particulars, the ancient state of England. It is a re¬ 
markable circumstance, however, that this survey does 
not include London. As the original manuscript does 
not appear to have been mutilated, it must be concluded 
that the property of the citizens of London was regis¬ 
tered in a separate volume, now lost; or that it was 
not divided into knights’ fees, and consequently not 
surveyed with the rest of the kingdom. 

* A chief magistrate, the governor of a port or harbour. 


78 


WILLIAM RUFUS. 


II. 


CHARACTER OF WILLIAM RUFUS. 

The memory of this monarch is handed down to us 
with little advantage, by the clergy, whom he had griev¬ 
ously offended ; and his conduct affords little reason for 
doubting the character which they have assigned him. 
He appears to have been a violent and tyrannical prince, 
a perfidious and dangerous neighbour, an unkind and 
ungenerous relation. He was prodigal and rapacious 
in the management of his treasury ; and if he possessed 
abilities he lay so much under the government of im¬ 
petuous passions, that he made little use of them in his 
administration. He, however, possessed great courage, 
and a vigorous understanding; two qualities which, 
with prudence and foresight, he might have turned to 
considerable advantage for his people. 

At the time of his death, he had the Archbishopric of 
Canterbury, two bishoprics, and twelve abbeys in his 
hands ; and during his reign he disposed of the bishop¬ 
rics and monasteries to those who bid most for them. 

Shortly after his accession to the throne, William and 
his brother Robert made war upon Henry, their young¬ 
est brother, whom they besieged in Mount St. Michael’s, 
in Normandy. The King, riding out one morning un¬ 
attended, fell in with a party of Henry’s soldiers, and 
endeavoured to force his way through them ; but he was 
dismounted, and a soldier was going to despatch him, 
when he saved his life by exclaiming, “ Hold, knave ! I 

am the King of England.” Upon this, the man dropped 

79 


WILLIAM RUFUS. 


his sword, raised the monarch from the ground, and 
immediately received from him the honour of knight¬ 
hood. 

Risdon, in his “ Description of Devon,” says that, 
“ This King, falling sick at Gloucester, and very danger¬ 
ously taken, began seriously to repent him of his disso¬ 
lute life, especially of simony, and oppression of the 
church and churchmen. In which good temper he con¬ 
ferred the archbishopric of Canterbury upon Anselme, 
which he had kept void in his own hands four years, 
and Lincoln upon Robert Bluett, his chancellor, but 
upon his recovery he much repented him of that repent¬ 
ance, and wishing the same in his hands again, fell to 
his old practices as busily as ever before.” 

William’s death was occasioned by an accident, whilst 
hunting in the New Forest, in Hampshire. He was 
wounded by an arrow, shot by Walter Tyrell, his parti¬ 
cular friend and favourite, and immediately expired, on 
the 2nd of August, 1100, aged forty-four, after a reign 
of thirteen years. It is said, so little respect was paid 
to his body, that it was conveyed in a coal-cart to Win¬ 
chester, and was soon after interred, in a very private 
manner, in the church of St. Swithin. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The most remarkable historical event that occurred 
during the reign of this monarch was the Crusade. 

The Crusades, or Wars of the Cross, were great mili¬ 
tary expeditions undertaken by the princes of Europe, 
for the purpose of rescuing the land of Judaea (or Pales¬ 
tine), and the holy city of Jerusalem from the hands of 
the Saracens and other infidels. Men of all ranks and 


80 


HENRY TI1E FIRST. 


all nations flew to arms with, the utmost ardour; and, 
led on by the wily persuasion of Pope Martin II, and 
the fanaticism of one Peter the Hermit, a native of 
France, they left homes, families, and country, and 
enrolled themselves in this (so-called) sacred warfare. 
Duke Robert, William’s elder brother, having engaged 
himself and his Norman subjects in the cause, and being 
too poor to equip himself and his retinue in the style 
and magnificence of other princes, resolved to mortgage, 
or rather to sell, his duchy to William, for the trifling 
sum of ten thousand marks. The bargain was soon con¬ 
cluded ; the king raised the money by violent extortions 
on his subjects of all ranks; even the convents were 
obliged to melt their plate in order to furnish the quota 
demanded of them. William was thus put in possession 
of Normandy and Maine, and Robert, providing himself 
with a magnificent train, set out for the Holy Land in 
pursuit of glory; and, by his infatuated folly, lost, not 
only his duchy of Normandy, but the kingdom of 
England. 


III. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE FIRST. 

Henry was one of the most accomplished princes of 
the age in which he lived, and possessed all the great 
qualities of body and mind, both natural and acquired, 
which could fit him for the high station to which he 
attained. His person was manly, his countenance en¬ 
gaging, his eyes clear, serene, and penetrating. He 

81 



HENRY THE FIRST. 


was facetious and affable with liis favourites, but discreet 
and cautious with his courtiers. By his great progress 
in literature he acquired the name of “ Beauclerc,” or, 
the scholar ; but his application to sedentary pursuits 
abated nothing of the activity and vigour of his govern¬ 
ment. He was possessed of great courage and fortitude, 
and his temper was susceptible of friendship ; but, in 
his resentments he was cruel, vindictive, and implacable. 
His Norman descent inspired him with a dislike to the 
English, whom he oppressed by extravagant exactions, 
to enable him to maintain expensive wars upon the con¬ 
tinent. He is said to have died the richest prince in 
Europe. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Henry not only usurped the possession of the Crown 
of England from his elder brother Robert, but, upon 
perceiving the indolence and incapacity of that prince to 
govern, he attacked him in his duchy, obtained posses¬ 
sion of Normandy, and brought Robert a prisoner to 
England. That unfortunate prince was afterwards con¬ 
fined for life in Cardiff-castle, Glamorganshire. He 
lingered twenty-eight years in this wretched condition, 
and some historians assert that Henry had the bar¬ 
barity to order him to be deprived of sight, by the 
application of red-hot copper wire to his eyes. 

The University of Cambridge may be said to have 
been established in this reign; for though it was found¬ 
ed two centuries before, it suffered much from the depre¬ 
dations of the Banes, and seems to have been entirely 
deserted. An ancient historian compares its commence¬ 
ment to “ a little fountain which hath swelled into a 

great river, by which all England is rendered fruitful.” 

82 


HENRY THE FIRST. 


This important establishment attracted little notice at 
the time, though contemporary writers dwell with much 
satisfaction upon what they call the piety of the king, 
in erecting some monastic establishments. 

Though this king was obliged partly to yield to the 
encroachments of the clergy, he enforced the strict 
administration of justice on the laity; and in numerous 
instances treated with severity all thieves, idle and 
marauding followers of the Court, and those who adul¬ 
terated or debased the coin. The latter practice had 
been carried so far as to become a national grievance. 
The debased money was called in, but the difficulty of 
replacing it with a better circulating medium, caused 
a scarcity, from which the kingdom suffered severely. 
The ministers of justice were terrified by the severe 
conduct of the king, which was often covered by dissi¬ 
mulation ; so that Bluett, Bishop of Lincoln, and Chief 
Justice, when told that the king had praised him, 
expressed his fears that his ruin was intended. 

London’s Second Charter. —Henry, on his accession 
to the throne, granted a charter to London, which seems 
to have been the first step towards rendering that city a 
corporation. By this charter the city was empowered to 
keep the farm of Middlesex at 300Z. a year; to elect its 
own sheriff and justiciary, and to hold pleas of the 
crown ; and it was exempted from scot, Danegelt, trials 
by combat, and lodging the king’s retinue. These, with 
a confirmation of the privileges of their court of hust¬ 
ings, wardmotes and common-halls, and their liberty of 
hunting in Middlesex and Surrey, are the chief articles 
of this charter. 

Death of Prince William. —Henry’s only son, Wil¬ 
liam, having reached his eighteenth year, and having been 

83 


HENRY THE FIRST. 


recognised as successor to the kingdom, his father carried 
him over to Normandy, that he might receive the homage 
of the barons of that duchy. The king, on his return, set 
sail from Harfleur, and was soon carried by a fair wind 
out of sight of land. The prince was detained by some 
accident; and his sailors, as well as their captain, 
Thomas Fitz-Stepliens, having spent the interval in 
drinking, in their hurry to follow the king, heedlessly 
suffered the ship to strike on a rock, in consequence of 
which she immediately foundered. Prince William was 
put into the long-boat and had got clear of the ship, 
when, hearing the cries of his natural sister, Mary, 
Countess of Perche, he ordered the seamen to row back, in 
hopes of saving her; but the numbers who then crowded 
in, soon sunk the boat, and the prince, with all his reti¬ 
nue, perished. Above a hundred and forty young noble¬ 
men of the principal families of England and Normandy 
were lost on this occasion. A butcher of Rouen was the 
only person on board who escaped; he clung to the mast, 
and was taken up next morning by some fishermen. 
Fitz-Stephens, the captain, also clung to the mast, but 
being informed by the butcher that Prince William had 
perished, he said he would not survive the disaster, and 
threw himself headlong into the sea. King Henry enter¬ 
tained hopes for three days that his son had put into 
some distant port in England; but when certain in¬ 
telligence of the calamity was brought to him, he 
fainted away, and it was remarked that he never after 
was seen to smile, and never recovered his wonted 
cheerfulness. 

“ Woe was in England’s halls that day, 

Woe in her royal towers, 

While low her haughty monarch lay, 

To wail his smitten flowers : 


81 


HENRY THE FIRST. 


And though protracted years bestow 
Bright honour’s envied store, 

Yet on that crown’d and lofty brow 
The smile sat nevermore ! ” 

Sigourney. 

Henry’s Death. —Henry had resided in Normandy for 
a considerable time previous to his death; hut was pre¬ 
paring for a journey to England, when he was seized 
with a sudden illness at St. Denis le Forment, from eating 
too plentifully of lampreys, a food which agreed better 
with his palate than his constitution. He died on the 1st 
of December, 1135, leaving, by his will, his daughter 
Maude, or Matilda, heiress of all his dominions ; but a 
rival appeared in the person of Stephen, son of the Count 
de Blois, who had married Adela, daughter of William 
the Conqueror. On Henry’s death, Stephen hastened to 
England, and, through the influence of a party who 
favoured his pretensions, was proclaimed king, at Lon¬ 
don. The cause of Matilda, however, was espoused by 
a large portion of the nobility; and a desolating civil 
war was the consequence, attended with great changes 
of fortune to both parties. 

In the year 1100, Henry restored to the English 
people the liberty of using fire and candle by night, of 
which they had been deprived by William the Con¬ 
queror. 


S5 


STEPHEN. 


IV. 

CHARACTER OF STEPHEN. • 

Stephen was a prince of considerable courage, forti¬ 
tude, and activity. He would have been greatly beloved 
by his people, had he not been harassed by the efforts 
of a powerful competitor. This obliged him to take 
such measures for his safety as were inconsistent with 
the dictates of honour. His necessities compelled him 
to infringe the charter of privileges which he granted at 
his accession. His vices, as a king, appear to have been 
the effect of the troubles in which he was involved ; for 
as a man, he was brave, open, liberal, and just ; and 
during the short calm that succeeded the tempest of his 
reign, he published an edict, to restrain all rapine and 
violence, and disbanded the foreign mercenaries who had 
preyed so long upon his people. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Civil Wars. —Stephen endeavoured to strengthen 
himself and his pretensions against Maude, by taking a 
foreign army into his pay, and by signing a charter, in 
which he acknowledged his being elected king by the 
clergy and people. He also confirmed the rights of the 
Church, abolished the forest laws, and revived the fa¬ 
vourite laws of Edward the Confessor ; but being unable 
to reward the nobles according to their expectations, a 
rebellion was soon raised against him, and he was obliged 
to conclude a disadvantageous peace with the inhabi¬ 
tants of Wales and Scotland. He then fell into a 
86 


STEPHEN. 


lethargy, and the Normans, imagining that he was dead, 
invited Theobald, his brother, to seize the duchy : how¬ 
ever, Stephen recovering, went into Normandy, expelled 
his brother, and then returned to England, where the 
friends of Matilda were ready to declare in her favour, 
assisted by the King of Scotland ; but Stephen invaded 
Scotland, compelled King David to conclude another 
peace with him, and reduced the refractory English 
barons to submission. 

He now reigned with great tranquillity for some time : 
but being jealous of the power of the clergy, he seized 
the castles belonging to the Bishops of Salisbury, Lin¬ 
coln, and Ely ; upon which the Bishop of Winchester, 
legate of England, and the king’s own brother, became 
his most inveterate enemy. The clergy, also, who pos¬ 
sessed not only castles, but garrisons, made their am¬ 
bition the cause of the people; and the Empress Maude 
took this opportunity of personally asserting her right 
to the throne. 

England was now distracted by all the rage of civil 
war, while the people were plundered by both parties. 
The king faced the storm with noble fortitude, he 
besieged the empress in Wallingford, pursued her to 
Lincoln, and gave battle to the Earl of Gloucester before 
that city, when, after a great effusion of blood, the earl 
was victorious ; and the king, having broken his battle- 
axe and sword in pieces by the force of his blows, was 
struck down on his knees with a stone before he could 
be taken ; after which he was confined in Bristol Castle, 
and ignominiously loaded with irons. 

While Stephen was in prison, the Duke ot Anjou 

seized upon Normandy ; and the sovereignty of Maude 

was everywhere acknowledged; but, on her behaving 

87 


HENRY THE SECOND. 


with great haughtiness, and refusing to mitigate the 
iseverity of the Norman laws, a revolt ensued, and she 
was obliged to quit London; and Stephen being set at 
liberty, was everywhere successful, till the empress and 
her son Henry were obliged to retire to Normandy. 

The young prince soon after landed an army in Eng¬ 
land, in order to obtain the crown ; but in 1153, 
Stephen concluded a peace with him; and upon con¬ 
dition of enjoying the crown during his life, consented 
that Henry should succeed to it at his death. Stephen 
died on the 25th of October, 1154, in the fiftieth year 
of his age. 


y. 


CHARACTER OF HENRY THE SECOND. 

Henry was a prince of middle stature, strong and 
well proportioned; his countenance was lively and en¬ 
gaging ; his conversation affable and entertaining ; his 
language easy, persuasive, and ever at command. His 
character, in private as well as in public life, is almost 
without a blemish; and he seems to have possessed 
every accomplishment, both of body and mind, which 
makes a man either estimable or amiable. He was com¬ 
passionate to all in distress, and so charitable, that he 
constantly allotted one-tenth of his household provisions 
to the poor; and was a generous benefactor to learned 
men. He loved peace, but possessed both courage and 
conduct in war ; was provident without timidity ; strict 

in the execution of justice, without severity ; and tem- 

88 



HENRY THE SECOND. 


perate without austerity. He was beloved and revered 
above all the princes of his time, and his death was 
deeply lamented by his subjects, whose happiness seems 
to have been his chief desire. He enacted wholesome 
and wise laws ; and the English nation to this day enjoys 
benefits of which he laid the foundation. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Henry the Second, the first of the royal line of the 
Plantagenets, commenced his reign by several very 
popular acts of government. He dismissed the foreign 
troops with whom England was overrun ; ordered a 
number of the castles, which enabled the great barons 
to maintain a power independent of the crown, to be 
demolished; and granted charters to several of the 
towns, by which they held their privileges directly from 
himself, and independently of any other superior. These 
charters laid the foundation of English liberty ; as the 
citizens of the towns were now, for the first time, con¬ 
sidered as one of the political orders of the State. 

Heath of Becket. —The king had for some years 
met with continual disturbance, from the arrogance of 
Thomas a Becket, whom he had raised from a very 
humble station to the see of Canterbury. His haughty 
conduct at length became so intolerable that Henry was 
heard to say with bitterness, that he had no friends left, 
otherwise he would be freed from the tyranny of that 
ungrateful prelate. These words were construed by 
four of the king’s attendants into a desire for Becket’s 
death. They immediately proceeded to Canterbury, on 
the 30th December, 1172 ; and entering the church 
where he was engaged in the evening service, they mur- 

89 


HENRY THE SECOND. 


dered him before the altar. The king was overwhelmed 
with grief and terror on account of this murder, which 
there is no reason for believing he had in any degree 
countenanced. What is most extraordinary, the pope’s 
legate prevailed on Henry to do penance, by going bare¬ 
foot to Bechet’s tomb, and to be scourged by the Au¬ 
gustine monks, who gave him eighty lashes on his 
naked back. Becket’s murderers were allowed to go 
unmolested ; but he acquired the reputation of a saint, 
and some pretended miracles were ascribed to his shrine. 

Conquest of Ireland. —The reign of this monarch is 
remarkable for the conquest of Ireland. That island, 
though early converted to Christianity, and though it 
had made some advancement in civilization, had, at this 
period, fallen into great barbarism. It was under the 
dominion of several independent chieftains, or kings, 
who were in a state of constant warfare with each other. 
One of these, having been driven from his possessions, 
applied for assistance to Henry, who soon found a pre¬ 
text for invading the island, and annexing it to the 
English crown. In 1172 he sailed with a numerous 
fleet to Ireland, and landed at Waterford. He met with 
but little opposition from the inhabitants, who, worn 
out with intestine commotions, submitted to him in the 
prospect of future tranquillity. Since that time, Ireland 
remained an appendage to the English crown, till its 
union with Great Britain. 

The Revolt of the Princes. — The latter part of 

Henry’s reign was embittered by family dissensions. By 

his Queen, Eleanor, he had four sons, Henry, Richard, 

Geoffrey, and John. Henry had been anointed king 

during his father’s life, and appointed his successor : 

but he also demanded a share in the government, which 
90 


HENRY THE SECOND. 


being refused, he prevailed on his two younger brothers 
to join him in rebellion against their father. They 
obtained the support of the Kings of France and Scot¬ 
land ; Henry’s Norman dominions were invaded by the 
King of France, accompanied by the rebellious princes ; 
and the King of Scotland invaded England. 

Henry, however, overthrew the forces of his enemies 
both abroad and at home. He defeated the King of 
Scotland; took him prisoner, and, before his release, 
compelled him to do homage for the Scottish crown 
For a few years he enjoyed tranquillity; but he was 
again involved in differences with his children, in the 
course of which two of them, Henry and Geoffrey, died. 
Richard, supported by the King of France, again in¬ 
vaded his father’s continental dominions, and compelled 
him to accept a peace on terms which he chose to dic¬ 
tate, none of which affected him so deeply as the dis¬ 
covery that his youngest and favourite son, John, had 
been privately in the interest of his enemies. The 
unhappy king, already overloaded with cares and sor¬ 
rows, upon the discovery of this last act of filial ingrati¬ 
tude and desertion, broke out into expressions of the 
utmost despair, cursed the day in which he received his 
miserable being, and bestowed on his ungrateful and 
undutiful children a malediction which he never could 
be prevailed upon to retract. The more his heart was 
disposed to friendship and affection, the more he re¬ 
sented the barbarous return which his four sons had 
successively made to his paternal care ; and this finish¬ 
ing blow, by depriving him of every comfort in life, 
quite broke his spirit, and threw him into a lingering 
fever, of which he expired at the castle of Chinon, near 
Saumer, on the 6th July, 1189. 


91 


RICHARD THE FIRST. 


VI. 

CHARACTER OF RICHARD THE FIRST. 

Richard was tall, graceful, fair, and well proportioned. 
His eyes were blue and sparkling, his hair of a bright 
yellow, inclining to red. 

The most brilliant part of his character was his 
military talents. No man, even in that romantic age, 
carried personal courage and intrepidity to a greater 
height; and this quality gained him the appellation of 
the lion-hearted (cceur de lion). He passionately loved 
glory, especially military glory; and as his conduct in 
the field was not inferior to his ardour, he seems to 
have possessed every talent necessary for acquiring it. 
He was open, frank, and generous to his equals, but 
haughty and domineering to his inferiors. He was 
more ambitious to be distinguished as a valiant knight 
than as a good king. He neglected the affairs of his 
kingdom, and was prodigal both of the blood and 
treasure of his subjects in the indulgence of his own 
propensity for war. He possessed, however, many 
amiable and excellent qualities which would have borne 
better fruits in a more enlightened age. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Crusades. —The principal feature in Richard’s 

reign appears to have been the part he took in the 

Crusades. Excited by the enthusiasm, which extended 

itself through all classes of society, against the infidels, 

in conjunction with his ruling passion for military 
92 


RICHARD THE FIRST. 


glory, Richard exhausted the resources of his kingdom, 
in preparations to join the Christian host in Palestine ; 
and joining Philip of France he set out with an army 
of a hundred thousand men. His great valour raised 
him to the command of the whole forces of the cru¬ 
saders ; and he carried on a warfare more glorious than 
useful, with Saladin, the renowned Saracen monarch, 
whom he at length defeated in the great battle of 
Ascalon. His army, however, was too much exhausted 
to be able to prosecute the victory, and a three years’ 
truce* with Saladin enabled Richard to return to his 
kingdom, the distracted state of which required his 
presence. 

On his way home, in travelling through Germany, he 
was seized by the Archduke of Austria, with whom he 
had quarrelled in Palestine, and thrown into prison, 
where he was so long closely confined, that his subjects 
remained in total ignorance of his fate. His discovery is 
said to have been effected by one Blondel, a minstrel, 
who had been attached to his service, who after wan¬ 
dering over many lands in search of his master, at last 
found out the place of his captivity by hearing him 
repeat, with his harp, a favourite air played by the 
minstrel outside the walls of his prison. Richard was 
now ransomed by his English subjects, and returned to 
his dominions after an absence of four years, fifteen 
months of which he had spent in a dungeon. 

The remainder of Richard’s reign was spent in a war 
with France, which was terminated only by his death. 
Having laid siege to the castle of a baron of Limosin, 

* The truce was for three years, three months, three weeks, three 
days, and three hours, a number supposed, in that ignorant age, to 
possess some magical virtues. 


JOHN. 


who had found a treasure upon his estate, Richard 
claimed it, as sovereign of Guienne. Here he was 
wounded in the shoulder, by an arrow, from a cross-bow. 
The wound mortified, through unskilful treatment, and 
he died in a few days, on the 6th of April, 1199 : 

“ And left the name at which the world grew pale. 

To point a moral, or adorn a tale.’’ 

It was during the crusades that the custom of using 
coats of arms was first introduced into Europe. The 
knights, cased up in armour, had no way to make them¬ 
selves known and distinguished in battle, but by the 
devices on their shields; and these were gradually 
adopted by their posterity and families, who were proud 
of the pious and military enterprises of their ancestors. 

In this reign the City of London began to assume a 
new form with respect to its government; to have a 
mayor, and to be divided into several corporations or 
societies, now termed companies. 


VII. 

CHARACTER OF JOHN. 

This prince was tall in person, of a good shape, and 
agreeable countenance. His disposition is strongly de¬ 
lineated in the transactions of his reign. He was sloth¬ 
ful, shallow, proud, and imperious ; cruel, treacherous, 
cowardly, and inconstant; abject in adversity, and over¬ 
bearing in success ; hated by his subjects, over whom 

94 



JOHN. 


he tyrannized to the utmost of his power; detested by 
the clergy, whom he oppressed with exactions, and 
despised by all the neighbouring princes of Europe. 

Though he might have passed through life without 
incurring such a load of odium and contempt, had not 
his reign been perplexed by the turbulence of the 
barons, the rapaciousness of the Pope, and the ambition 
of such a monarch as Philip Augustus, his character 
would never have exempted him from the scorn of his 
people. However, it must be acknowledged, that his 
reign was not altogether barren of laudable transactions. 
He regulated the form of the civil government of the 
City of London, and several other places in the king¬ 
dom : he was the first who coined sterling money; in¬ 
troduced the laws of England into Ireland, and granted 
to the Cinque-ports those privileges of which they are 
still possessed. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Magna Charta. —The barons of England, fired with 
indignation at the meanness and cowardice of John, in 
submitting to the dictation of the Pope and his nuncio ; 
and oppressed by the heavy taxes with which he loaded 
them, had recourse to arms, and demanded a re-esta¬ 
blishment of the laws of Edward the Confessor, and a 
renewal of the charter of Henry the First, which being 
refused by the King, they chose Robert Fitz-Walter for 
their general, marched to London, and besieged him in 
the Tower. The king complied when he could no 
longer resist, and agreed to meet the barons in a mea¬ 
dow between Windsor and Staines, called Runnymead , 
a place before used for councils, and for public debates. 

95 


JOHN. 


This meeting took place on the 15 th June, 1215; John 
being unable to obtain supplies from his people, and 
finding himself too weak to withstand their demands, 
granted what they desired. This was the origin of that 
famous charter of liberties, called Magna Charta , which 
he was obliged to sign, and also the charter of the 
liberties of the forest, documents that have since been 
esteemed the foundations of English liberty. 

Although the principal object of the Great Charter 
was to secure the rights of the higher orders of the 
State, yet those of the lower or great body of the people 
were not disregarded ; and the attainment of this great 
object was hailed with lively satisfaction by all classes 
of society. 

The faithless king, however, though compelled to 
sign the Charter , had no intention of observing it. He 
retired to the Isle of Wight, where he employed himself 
privately in raising a body of foreign troops, and in 
procuring a bull, or decree, from the Pope, annulling 
the charter. He then suddenly attacked the barons, 
who were wholly unprepared, and committed the most 
horrid cruelties on them and their dependants. Upon 
this the barons applied for assistance to the King of 
France, and offered the crown to his son Louis. This 
prince accordingly invaded England with a powerful 
army, and entered London, the citizens doing homage 
to him as their sovereign. His conduct, however, ex¬ 
cited the suspicions of the English nobles as to his in¬ 
tentions towards them. Many of them returned to 
John, who was once more at the head of a considerable 
army. But as he was marching from Lynn, in Norfolk, 
into Lincolnshire, the rear of his army was overtaken 

by the tide, and all his carriages, treasures, and bag- 

96 


henry the third. 


gage, were swept away. He himself escaped with diffi¬ 
culty, and arrived at Swinstead Abbey, where grief and 
agitation threw him into a fever. He was removed to 
Newark, and died on the 19th of October, 1216, in the 
fiftieth year of his age, and eighteenth of his reign. 
Some writers say that he was poisoned by a monk. 


VIII. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE THIRD. 

The most striking feature in Henry’s character is, his 
incapacity for government, which rendered him as much 
a prisoner in the hands of his own ministers and favou¬ 
rites, as when detained a captive in the hands of his 
enemies. From this cause, rather than from insincerity 
or treachery, arose his negligence in observing his pro¬ 
mises ; since he was too easily induced, for the sake of 
present convenience, to sacrifice the lasting advantages 
arising from the trust and confidence of his people. 
He was a prince of very mean talents; irresolute and 
arbitrary; destitute of economy or courage. Yet he 
merited praise for his aversion to cruelty; for he con¬ 
tented himself with punishing the rebels in their effects, 
when he might have taken their lives. He was pro¬ 
digal to excess, and therefore always in necessity. Not¬ 
withstanding the great sums he levied from his subjects, 
and though his wants were extremely pressing, he could 
not help squandering away his money upon worthless 

favourites, without considering the difficulty he always 

97 



HENRY THE THIRD. 


found in obtaining supplies. He was of a middle size, 
and robust make, and his countenance had a peculiar 
cast from his left eye-lid, which hung down so far as to 
cover part of his eye. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

England was in a wretched state during the long 
reign of this monarch, owing to the extreme feebleness 
of the government. No man was secure in his life or 
property ; and whole villages were frequently plundered 
and burnt by the bands of robbers who overran the 
country. Very often the juries who were assembled to 
try such criminals, proved to be their own companions. 
Even the higher orders and members of the king’s 
household were guilty of such practices, and said in 
excuse of their enormities, that, receiving no wages 
from their master, they were obliged to rob for their 
support. At this time, the Jews suffered intolerable 
oppression, not only in England, but over all Europe. 
Henry extorted great sums from them ; in one year he 
made them pay sixty thousand marks, a sum equal to 
the whole yearly revenue of the crown. King John, 
his father, once demanded ten thousand marks from a 
Jew at Bristol, and on his refusal, ordered one of his 
teeth to be drawn every day till he should comply. 
The Jew lost seven teeth, and then paid the money. 
They suffered similar treatment under Henry’s suc¬ 
cessor, Edward; and the cruelties they underwent in 
his reign are a strong proof of the effects of prejudice; 
for Edward was not a cruel prince, and the Jews were 
the only portion of his subjects whom he oppressed. 

98 


HENRY THE THIRD. 


The Barons. — Henry succeeded to the throne at 
nine years of age • and when lie grew up he appeared 
totally unfit to maintain his authority against the tur¬ 
bulent barons, whose long habits of resistance to the 
crown rendered them ungovernable. At that time they 
possessed fortified castles in various parts of the king¬ 
dom, by means of which they oppressed their vassals 
and the common people, and often set the king himself 
at defiance. The conduct of the Baron de Breaute may 
be mentioned as an instance. When thirty-five verdicts 
were at one time found against him in a court of justice, 
on account of his having driven that number of persons 
from their lands, he came to the court with a body of 
armed men, seized the judge, and imprisoned him in 
Bedford Castle ; and it was only after an open war with 
the king’s troops that he was subdued. Availing them¬ 
selves of the soft and easy temper of the king, the 
barons set no bounds to their lawless conduct; and a 
civil war would have ensued, had it not been for the 
influence of the clergy, who threatened the barons with 
excommunication, if they persisted in their contempt 
of the royal authority,—a threat which, in that age, 
seldom failed in its effect. 

The Parliament.— The most active amongst these 
nobles was Simon de Montford, Earl of Leicester, who 
took the lead in the civil dissensions which troubled the 
latter part of Henry’s reign ; to him, however, the na¬ 
tion is primarily indebted for the representative govern¬ 
ment of England, which, during succeeding ages, has 
conferred so many advantages on the people. The great 
councils of the nation now first began to receive the 
name of Parliament. The frequent and excessive de¬ 
mands for money made by the king and his foreign 

99 


EDWARD THE FIRST. 


favourites, afforded the barons grounds for resisting his 
authority. The parliament refused the supplies they 
had granted ; and the king was obliged to allow them 
to draw up a new plan of government. All the former 
officers of state were now dismissed, and twenty-four 
barons, at the head of whom was Montford, Earl of 
Leicester, were appointed to finish the new plan. This 
laid the foundation of the House of Commons. They 
ordered that/o^r Knights of the Shire should be chosen 
by each county, and Deputies by the cities and towns ; 
who should inquire into the grievances of the people, 
and lay them before the ensuing meeting of parliament. 
This parliament assembled in the year 1265, and is 
considered the beginning of the House of Commons; 
the representatives of the counties, cities, and boroughs 
now, for the first time, sitting as members of the parlia¬ 
ment ; though it does not appear that they sat as a sepa¬ 
rate body till the reign of Edward the Third. 

Henry confirmed the two great charters granted by 
his father, and granted a charter to the town of New¬ 
castle, in which he gave the inhabitants a licence to dig 
coal. This is the first mention of coal in England. 


IX. 

CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE FIRST. 

Edward was a prince of dignified appearance, tall 

in stature, comely in his features, with piercing black 

eyes, and of an aspect that commanded respect and 

esteem. His constitution was robust, his strength and 
100 

O v> 

Mo 

o 


0 



EDWARD THE FIRST. 


dexterity, perhaps unequalled in his kingdom. His 
legs are said to have been somewhat long in proportion 
to his body; whence he derived the epithet of Long¬ 
shanks. In the qualities of the head, he equalled the 
greatest monarchs who have sat on the English throne ; 
he was cool, penetrating, sagacious, and circumspect. 
The remotest countries resounded with the fame of his 
courage; and all over Europe he was considered as the 
flower of chivalry. Nor was he less accomplished in 
the cabinet than in the field. He re-modelled the 
laws for administering justice, so as to render them more 
sure and summary: he fixed proper bounds to the 
different courts of jurisdiction ; settled a new and easy 
method of collecting the revenue, and established wise 
and prudent regulations for preserving peace and order 
among his subjects. Yet, with all these good qualities, 
he cherished a dangerous ambition, to which he did 
not scruple to sacrifice the good of his country. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Subjection of Wales. —Edward the First resolved 
to make himself master of Wales, and reduce it to 
entire submission to the English crown. The people 
of that country were the Ancient Britons, who had 
maintained their freedom, when the Romans and 
Saxons subdued the greater part of the island. They 
had always been troublesome and dangerous enemies to 
England. It was their practice to make frequent in¬ 
roads, and ravage the country whenever it was disturbed 
by internal disputes, or engaged in wars abroad. Ihey 
had taken part in the rebellion of the Earl of Leicester, 

in the last reign, and their Prince, Llewellyn, had 

101 


EDWARD THE FIRST. 


refused to do the usual homage to Edward for his ter¬ 
ritories. Seizing this pretext, Edward invaded Wales ; 
and Llewellyn, after a brave defence of his country, was 
defeated and slain, in December, 1282. David, his 
brother, escaped from the battle, and remained some 
time in concealment; but being taken, he was most 
unjustly condemned and executed as a traitor to a 
government he had never acknowledged. 

In order to extinguish the spirit of liberty, which he 
conceived to be much animated and encouraged by the 
songs of the Welsh bards, or minstrels, he adopted the 
horrible resolution, of ordering them all to be collected 
and put to death. It is related, that, in order to re¬ 
concile the people to his government, and somewhat 
to soften their resentment for this cruelty, he assembled 
them together, and promised to give them a prince, 
a Welshman by birth, and one who could speak no 
other language. On their acclamations of joy and 
promise of obedience, he invested in the principality 
his second son, Edward, then an infant, who had been 
born at Caernarvon. The death of his eldest son, Al- 
phonso, soon after, made young Edward heir of the 
monarchy; the principality of Wales was fully an¬ 
nexed to the crown ; and henceforth gives the title of 
Prince of Wales to the eldest son of the sovereign of 
England. 

Scotland. —Edward conceived the design of extend¬ 
ing his sway over Scotland. The death of Alexander 
III., and his infant grand-daughter, opened the crown 
of that kingdom to several candidates, among whom 
were Robert Bruce and John Baliol. The dispute be¬ 
tween them was referred to Edward, who availed himself 

of the opportunity, and advanced upon Scotland with a 

102 


EDWARD THE FIRST. 


large army, under pretence of deciding their differences. 
He summoned the Scottish barons before him, and de¬ 
clared in favour of Baliol, whose feeble character made 
him unsuspicious of duplicity. He then proceeded to 
treat Baliol and the Scots as his subjects; and, on 
Baliol unexpectedly revolting against such treatment, 
Edward defeated his army at Dunbar, took him pri¬ 
soner, obliged him to renounce his crown, and then 
allowed him to retire into France, where he died. 

Edward now treated the Scots like a conquered peo¬ 
ple, till, roused by the example of the celebrated Sir 
William Wallace, they rose against their oppressor. 
Under this brave leader they maintained a glorious but 
unequal contest for eight years. Scotland at length 
was overwhelmed by the great forces of Edward ; and 
the unfortunate Wallace, who refused to surrender, 
wandered among the mountains with a few adherents; 
but was at length betrayed into Edward’s hands, and 
brought to London; where, after being treated with 
great indignity, he was condemned and executed as a 
traitor, on the 23rd of August, 1305. 

The death of Wallace has fixed an everlasting stain 
on the memory of Edward. 

The Scots regained possession of their ancient king¬ 
dom under Robert Bruce, the grandson of the rival of 
Baliol, who was crowned king. Edward, inflamed with 
rasfe, vowed that he would march into Scotland and 
never return till he had subdued it. He kept his 
vow, for he never returned. After many fruitless at¬ 
tempts against Bruce and his adherents, Edward was 
taken ill at Carlisle, and died, 7th July, 1307, en¬ 
joining his son, with his last breath, never to give up 
the enterprise, till Scotland was subdued. 


103 


EDWARD THE SECOND. 


X. 


CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE SECOND. 

This prince strikingly resembled his father in the 
accomplishments of his person as well as in his counte¬ 
nance ; but in other respects he seems to have inherited 
only the defects of his character, for he was cruel and 
illiberal, without his courage or capacity. He had 
levity, indolence, and irresolution, in common with other 
weak princes ; but the distinguishing foible of his cha¬ 
racter was that unaccountable passion for a reigning 
favourite, to which he sacrificed every other considera¬ 
tion of policy and convenience, and at last fell a miser¬ 
able victim to his folly. He abandoned the attempt to 
conquer Scotland, and allowed himself to be entirely 
governed by Piers Gavestone, the dissolute companion 
of his youth, whom his father had banished the king¬ 
dom. In his society he spent his time in frivolous 
amusements, till the barons, provoked by the insolence 
of the favourite, and the imbecility of the monarch, had 
recourse to arms and put Gavestone to death. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Battle of Bannockburn.— The king was at length 
compelled to prosecute the war with Scotland ; and, call¬ 
ing out the whole military force of the kingdom, 
marched into that country at the head of a hundred 
thousand men. Bruce could muster only thirty thou¬ 
sand, and these unequal forces met at a place called 
Bannockburn, near Stirling. A battle took place on 

104 


EDWARD THE SECOND. 


the 25th of June, 1315, in which the English were de¬ 
feated with great slaughter, and Edward himself nar¬ 
rowly escaped by flight. This battle decided the contest, 
and secured the independence of Scotland. 

‘The Spencers.— Edward, unmindful of the fate of 
Gavestone, made choice of a new favourite, in the person 
of Hugh de Spencer, and thus again roused the enmity 
of the nobility. Another rebellion broke out, headed 
as before, by the Earl of Lancaster. The rebels, how¬ 
ever, were defeated, and Lancaster being taken was put 
to death with the same cruelty which he had shown to 
Gavestone. But Spencer and his father soon incurred 
the general hatred, and Queen Isabella, a violent and 
profligate woman, flying to France with her son, the 
nobility sent for her. She returned, and collected a 
numerous party of the banished nobles. The king fled 
at her approach, and the unfortunate Spencers were 
taken, and both put to death, the father being in the 
ninetieth year of his age. 

Edward’s death. —The king was seized while at¬ 
tempting to take shelter in Wales. He was placed 
under the custody of two ruffians, Maltravers and Gour- 
nay, whose instructions from the infamous queen may 
be learned from their actions. They endeavoured to put 
an end to his life by a course of brutal treatment. 
They hurried him from place to place in the middle of 
the night and half-naked. Among other acts of cruelty, 
it is said they shaved him for sport in the open fields, 
using filthy water from a neighbouring ditch ; an insult 
which his fortitude, hitherto great, could not withstand. 
Finding that he continued to live notwithstanding their 
brutalities, they resolved to murder him, and having 
conveyed him to Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire, 

105 


EDWARD THE THIRD. 


they accomplished their design in the most diabolical 
and unheard of manner. His horrid shrieks, however, 
betrayed the dreadful secret, and the crime was soon 
afterwards made known by the confession of one of the 
murderers. This shocking deed was done on the 21st 
of September, 1327, in the twentieth year of his reign. 

The shrieks of death through Berkeley’s roofs that ring, 
Shrieks of an agonising king.” 

In this reign there happened the most terrible earth¬ 
quake that had ever been felt in England : also, a fa¬ 
mine, which lasted three years, and destroyed a vast 
number of the people. 


XI. 

CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE THIRD. 

Edward the Third was one of the greatest princes 
that ever swayed the sceptre of England, whether we 
consider him as a warrior, a lawgiver, a monarch, or a 
man. He was tall, majestic, and well-shaped, with a 
piercing eye, and aquiline visage. He excelled most of 
his contemporaries in feats of arms and personal address. 
He was courteous, affable, eloquent, and agreeable in con¬ 
versation ; and had the art of commanding the affections 
of his subjects without seeming to solicit popularity. 
He was a constitutional knight-errant, and his example 
diffused the spirit of chivalry through the whole nation. 
The love of glory was certainly the predominant passion 

of Edward, to the gratification of which, he did not 
106 



EDWARD THE THIRD. 


scruple sometimes to sacrifice the feelings of humanity, 
the lives of his subjects, and the interest of his country. 
Nothing could have induced or enabled his people to 
submit to the weight of taxes with which they were en¬ 
cumbered in this reign, but the love and admiration of 
his person, the fame of his victories, and the wisdom of 
his legislation. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The military spirit of Edward the Third tended con¬ 
siderably to impoverish his country, both by withdraw¬ 
ing the services of the ablest part of its population, and 
by the direct taxation required to support his troops. 
War was esteemed the noblest profession; the soldier 
was paid at a rate double that of the labourer and cul¬ 
tivator of the soil. But need for money compelled 
Edward to increase the privileges which the middle 
classes already began to enjoy. They had now con¬ 
siderable weight in the legislature, for the represen¬ 
tatives of the commons were allowed to form a distinct 
legislative body. In 1343, the knights of the shires 
were separated from the barons, and sat with the bur¬ 
gesses, which gave much additional influence to the 
Lower House of Parliament. Their Speaker not only 
presided in their deliberations, but pleaded for their 
rights and privileges. They remonstrated against offi¬ 
cial misconduct, and chose the person who should pre¬ 
side over them. 

Seventy parliaments were summoned during this 
reign; and the members or representatives received 
regular “wages” from their constituents for their ser¬ 
vices in the House of Commons. 


10 ; 


EDWARD THE THIRD. 


Edward the Black Prince. — This heroic and vir¬ 
tuous prince was commonly called the “ Black Prince,” 
from the colour of his armour, which was entirely sable. 
At sixteen years of age he won the great battle of Cressy, 
when it was said the French lost thirty thousand men, 
and the Kings of Bohemia and Majorca were slain, to¬ 
gether with a great number of the French nobility and 
gentry. King Edward, who was placed on an eminence 
from which he could survey the battle, was urged to 
send succour to his son, but he refused, saying that his 
son should be indebted to his own merit only for victory. 
This was on the 26th of August, 1346. 

Upon the death of Philip, King of France, who was 
succeeded by his son John, King Edward again invaded 
that kingdom in two places, but being himself obliged 
to return to England, he left the command of the army 
to the Black Prince, who found himself at the head 
of only about twelve thousand men, while King John 
marched against him with an army of sixty thousand. 
On the 18th September, 1356, the two armies came in 
sight of each other near Poictiers. The Black Prince, 
on seeing such an army advancing upon him, is said 
to have exclaimed, “ God help us ! nothing remains for 
us, but to fight bravely.” The Cardinal of Perigord, 
who was with the French army, endeavoured, by medi¬ 
ation, to prevent the shedding of blood. He found Prince 
Edward willing to agree to any terms consistent with 
the honour of himself and his army ; but the French 
king would agree to nothing less than the prince sur¬ 
rendering himself prisoner with a hundred of his atten¬ 
dants. The prince replied, “ That he would never be 
made a prisoner but with his sword in his hand and 

the troops prepared for battle. 

108 


EDWARD THE THIRD. 


On the following morning the armies engaged, and, 
after a desperate encounter, the French were completely 
routed. The French king fought with great valour; 
his nobles fell around him, and his son, scarce fourteen 
years of age, was wounded by his side. Finding him¬ 
self almost alone, he called aloud, “ Where is my cou¬ 
sin, the Prince of Wales T intimating his willingness to 
surrender to so noble an enemy. At length, having 
thrown down his sword, he was taken, and conducted to 
the prince, whose generosity was now as remarkable as 
his skill and courage had been before. lie received the 
captive king with such marks of kindness and respect, 
that John burst into tears, and declared that, notwith¬ 
standing the greatness of his misfortune, he rejoiced 
that he had fallen into the hands of so generous an 
enemy. On the 24th of May, 1357, Edward the Black 
Prince entered London, on his return from the victory of 
Poictiers, accompanied by John, the captive King of 
France, with a numerous and splendid cavalcade. In 
1363, a very magnificent entertainment was given in 
the city by Henry Pycard (the mayor in 1357) to the 
Kings of England, France, and Cyprus, with Edward 
the Black Prince, and a large company of eminent and 
noble guests. 

Edward the Black Prince was handsome in person, 
elegant in manners, and possessed a noble and generous 
heart. From his courage, as well as from his known 
principles of honour and humanity, he was the delight 
of the nation. He died on the 8th of June, 1376, in 
the 46 th year of his age. The parliament attended 
his corpse to Canterbury, where he was interred in the 
cathedral. 

King Edward distinguished himself by instituting the 

109 


RICHARD THE SECOND. 


Order of the Garter. He also took tlie title of King of 
France , and quartered the fleur-de-lis with his own arms, 
at the same time adding the motto Dieu et mon droit, 
or God and my right. He died at Richmond in Surrey, 
on the 21st of June, 1377, in the sixty-fifth year of his 
age, and was interred in Westminster Abbey. 


XII. 

CHARACTER OF RICHARD THE SECOND. 

Richard the Second had a very graceful person, and 
was of a lively disposition. He was, however, a weak, 
vain, and rather inconstant prince ; fond of flattery, 
and a slave to ostentation. He was also addicted to 
idleness; and, though brave by starts, naturally fearful 
and irresolute. His pride and resentment prompted 
him to cruelty and breach of faith, while his necessities 
compelled him frequently to exact large sums of money 
from his people, and to degrade the dignity of his sta¬ 
tion and character. In addition to his personal expen¬ 
diture for dress, and other articles of ostentation, at one 
period of his reign ten thousand followers were provi¬ 
sioned from his palace, and three hundred servitors were 
employed in his kitchen. 

Richard was only eleven years of age when he suc¬ 
ceeded his grandfather ; but a regency was appointed 
in the persons of his uncles, the Dukes of Lancaster, 
York, and Gloucester, sons of the late king. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Wat Tyler’s Insurrection. —In 1380, a poll-tax 

no 



RICHARD THE SECOND. 


being raised on all persons above fifteen years of age, for 
the assistance of Ferdinand, King of Portugal, against 
John, King of Castile, it was levied with the greatest 
rigour and brutality by the collectors, on which an in¬ 
surrection broke out, and, some historians say, three 
hundred thousand men appeared in arms in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of London, headed by one Wat Tyler, a black¬ 
smith of Deptford. The young king (his uncles being 
out of the kingdom) took refuge in the Tower. The 
multitude entered the city, murdering every one who 
appeared to be a gentleman or a foreigner, and destroy¬ 
ing the houses of the nobility. The king, at length, 
determined to meet and confer with them, and accord¬ 
ingly went among them v r ith a few unarmed attendants, 
when he spoke to the multitude in so gentle a manner, 
and gave them such assurances of redress, that some 
thousands of them retired quietly to their homes. 

The more desperate of the party, however, under 
Tyler himself, continued their ravages. On the follow¬ 
ing day, he and his followers, twenty thousand in num¬ 
ber, met the king in Smithfield, attended by a small 
body of horsemen. Wat requested to have a conference 
with the king himself, which being granted, he de¬ 
manded that the laws should be abolished, and the go¬ 
vernment re-modelled according to certain fantastical 
notions wdiich he himself had formed. While address¬ 
ing the king, he took occasion frequently to lift his 
sword, as if to intimate what Richard might expect, if 
his terms were not complied with. This insolent be¬ 
haviour so exasperated William Walworth, the Mayor 
of London, who attended the king, that, without con¬ 
sidering the danger of the act, he split Wat’s skull with 

his sword, and laid him dead at his feet. This bold act 

in 


RICHARD THE SECOND. 


happened to succeed, and soon after, the insurgents, 
having lost their leader, quietly dispersed. 

Richard’s Deposition and Death. —The occurrences 
of the greater part of Richard’s reign are without inte¬ 
rest. By a course of folly and misconduct he lost the 
affections of all ranks. In 1392, the Londoners refus¬ 
ing to lend him a sum of money, he took away their 
charter, and removed the courts of justice to York. He 
continued to extort money from his subjects, and for 
inconsiderable sums yielded up many of his possessions 
abroad. Seventeen counties were condemned as guilty 
of treason, because they resisted his infamous exactions ; 
but at length a rebellion was raised, and he was obliged 
to shut himself up in Conway Castle, in Wales. He 
soon after submitted to Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and 
was sent to the Tower. A parliament being called, 
he was solemnly deposed, and Henry proclaimed King, 
on the 30th September, 1399. After this, Richard was 
removed to Pontefract Castle, in Yorkshire ; and it is 
said, that on the 14th of February, 1400, Sir Pierce 
Exton, with eight ruffians, undertook to murder him, 
hoping, thereby, to please King Henry IV., and rushed 
into his room, when Richard bravely wrested a pole-axe 
from one of the assassins, with which he slew four of 
them ; but Exton, mounting on a chair behind him, 
struck him on the head with such violence that he 
immediately dropped down dead, in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age. His body was first interred at King’s 
Langley, in Hertfordshire, but afterwards removed to 
Westminster Abbey by order of Henry the Fifth. Some 
writers say Richard died of starvation in his dungeon. 


112 



HENRY THE FOURTH. 


XIII. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE FOURTH. 

Henry the Fourth, surnamecl of Bolingbrohe, was 
the son of the Duke of Lancaster. He was of middle 
stature, well-proportioned, and perfect in all the exer¬ 
cises of arms and chivalry ; his countenance was severe 
and haughty, his disposition sullen and reserved. He 
possessed a great share of courage, fortitude, and pene¬ 
tration ; was naturally imperious, though he bridled his 
temper with caution ; superstitious, though without the 
least tincture of true religion ; and meanly parsimoni¬ 
ous, though justly censured for ill-judged profusion and 
want of proper economy. His claim to the throne laid 
the foundation for the sanguinary wars between the 
Houses of York and Lancaster, which afterwards deso¬ 
lated England. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Scottish Invasion. —In 1402-3, the Scots in¬ 
vaded England, under the Earl of Douglas, but were 
defeated at Halidown-hill, by the Earl of Northumber¬ 
land, and his son Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur , with 
the loss of 10,000 men; and in this victory several 
earls and other persons of consequence were made pri¬ 
soners; but the king ordering Northumberland to deliver 
up the prisoners into his hands, the earl was so exas¬ 
perated, that he, with Hotspur his son, and other lords, 
agreed to crown Edward Mortimer, Earl of March, 
whom Owen Glendower kept prisoner in Wales. The 
rebel army was encamped near Shrewsbury, headed by 

113 


HENRY THE FOURTH. 


Henry Hotspur, the Earl of Worcester, and the Scotch 
Earl of Douglas : and the king marched directly thither 
with 14,000 choice troops, headed by the Prince of 
Wales, and the Earl of Dunbar; and on the 20th of 
July, 1403, at a place afterwards called Battlefield, he 
obtained so complete a victory, that about 10,000 of the 
rebels were killed, among whom was the brave Hotspur, 
who fell by the hands of the Prince of Wales. 

Another insurrection broke out in 1405, of which the 
Archbishop of York was the principal leader, assisted 
by the Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Mowbray, Earl 
Marshal, and other noblemen, who assembled a large 
body of troops at York and published a manifesto, de¬ 
claring the king a traitor, and their resolution to place 
Mortimer, the lawful heir, upon the throne. But this 
disturbance was soon suppressed by the policy of Balph 
Nevill, Earl of Westmoreland; and all the leaders, in¬ 
cluding the archbishop, were executed. This was the 
first instance of the punishment of death being inflicted 
upon a clergyman of high rank. 

The burning of Heretics. —In this reign the cruel 
practice of burning people on account of their religion 
was first introduced. The celebrated Wickliffe, had, 
some time before, preached against the errors of the 
Church of Borne, and his doctrines made considerable 
progress in England. Henry himself, before his acces¬ 
sion to the throne, was believed to favour them ; but 
he was persuaded to suppress them ; and several of the 
Lollards (as the followers of Wickliffe were called) were 
burnt in Smitkfield. 

Henry died in the Jerusalem-chamber, at Westminster, 
on the 20th March, 1413, and was interred in Canter¬ 
bury cathedral. 

114 


HENRY THE FIFTH. 


XIV. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE FIFTH. 

Henry the Fifth, surnamed of Monmouth , was tall 
and slender, with a long neck, engaging aspect, and 
limbs of the most elegant form. He excelled most of 
the youth of that age in agility, and the exercise of 
arms; and was hardy, patient, and laborious. His 
valour was such as no danger could startle and no diffi¬ 
culty oppose ; nor was his policy inferior to his courage. 
He managed the dissensions among his enemies with 
such address, as proved him consummate in the arts of 
the cabinet. He was temperate, modest, and devout ; 
scrupulously just in his administration, and severely 
exact in the discipline of his army, upon which he knew 
his glory and success mainly depended. In a word, he 
was without an equal in the arts of war, policy, and 
government; though his great qualities were somewhat 
tarnished by his ambition, and his propensity to cruelty. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Chief Justice Gascoyne. —Henry the Fifth, in his 
father’s life-time, had been wild and unruly ; and his 
conduct, notwithstanding the bravery and high spirit 
which he sometimes displayed, had much embittered his 
father’s latter years. On one occasion, one of his profli¬ 
gate companions being committed to prison for a rob¬ 
bery, by Chief-justice Gascoyne, Henry behaved with 
great violence, and even struck the chief-justice, who 
immediately ordered him to be carried to prison. Henry, 
feeling the impropriety of his conduct, submitted to his 

115 


HENRY THE FIFTH. 


punishment, acknowledging its justice. When this 
circumstance was reported to the king, he joyfully ex¬ 
claimed, “ Happy is the king who has a magistrate so 
resolute in the discharge of his duty; still happier in 
having a son so submissive to the laws.” No sooner did 
Henry ascend the throne than his behaviour was totally 
changed. He chose a council of state, composed of men 
of distinguished wisdom, and commanded those who had 
been the companions of his irregularities, either to 
change their manners or never more to approach his 
person. 

The Battle of Agincourt. —Henry, having revived 
the English title to the crown of France, in 1415, em¬ 
barked an army of near fifty thousand men, and invaded 
that kingdom. He landed at Havre de Grace, and laid 
siege to Harfleur, which surrendered in five weeks. Soon 
after, the French King, having assembled an army three 
times as numerous as that of Henry, challenged him to 
fight, and Henry consented, though the English army 
was now reduced by sickness to little more than nine 
thousand men. They met near the village of Agincourt, 
on the 25th of October. The French, trusting to their 
superior numbers, passed the night before the battle in 
boisterous hilarity and rejoicings, and even sent to 
Henry, to know what he would give for his ransom ; to 
which he replied, “ a few hours would show whose care 
it would be to make that provision.” Henry passed the 
night in making the most skilful arrangements for the 
battle. In the morning, the onset was made by the 
English, who, after using their arrows with great effect, 
rushed on the French with their swords and battle-axes, 
and drove them back with great slaughter. Henry had 

disposed his few men to such advantage, and behaved 

116 


HENRY THE FIFTH. 


with such extraordinary skill and courage himself, that 
he gained a complete victory. The Duke of Alern^on, 
who had sworn to kill or take the king, clove his hel¬ 
met, but was struck down by Henry, and slain. This 
battle was very fatal to France, from the immense loss 
of her nobility slain or made prisoners ; it is said that 
ten thousand persons were killed, and fourteen thousand 
made prisoners. The loss to the English was very 
trifling. 

Henry returned to England in triumph, and the next » 
year again invaded France, but met with no resistance, 
and a treaty was concluded, by which it was settled that 
the French King should enjoy his dignity for life, that 
Henry should marry his daughter Catherine, and be 
heir to his crown; and that France and England should 
be, from that time, united in one government. 

Henry married Catherine and returned to England ; 
but the Dauphin (or heir of the French King) refused to 
submit to the treaty. Upon this, Henry returned to 
France with a large army, but, while marching towards 
the river Loire, he was seized with a pleuritic fever, and 
died on the 31st of August, 1422. 

Flis widow, Catherine of France, afterwards married 
Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman, by whom she had a 
son, Edmund, Earl of Richmond, who was the father of 
Henry, Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry the Seventh. 


117 



HENRY THE SIXTH. 


XY. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE SIXTH. 

Henry the Sixth possessed a sound and healthy 
constitution, and was naturally insensible to affliction 
He was such a stranger to cruelty and revenge, that he 
frequently sustained personal indignities of the grossest 
nature, without discovering the least mark of resent¬ 
ment. He was pious, compassionate, and charitable, 
and so inoffensive that he would have adorned a cloister, 
though he was totally unfit for a throne. He succeeded 
to the crown when only nine months old; reigning in 
England under the tutelage of his uncle, Humphrey 
Duke of Gloucester, and in France under that of his 
uncle the Duke of Bedford. 

Henry founded the college of Eton, near Windsor, 
and King’s college, in Cambridge, for the reception of 
those scholars who had begun their studies at Eton. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Henry crowned King of France.— Henry’s misfor¬ 
tunes began in France by the death of his grandfather, 
Charles the Sixth, not quite two months after the death 
of his father, King Henry. This gave great advantage 
to the Dauphin, who was called Charles the Seventh, and 
being crowned at Poietiers, he disputed with Henry the 
crown of France : yet, for some time, the English con¬ 
tinued to have great success in that kingdom, and every 
thing seemed to promise the entire possession of France, 

when it was prevented by an unforeseen blow. A girl, 
118 


HENRY THE SIXTH. 


known by the name of Joan of Arc, or, the Maid of 
Orleans, suddenly appeared at the head of the French 
army, and, in 1429, made the English raise the siege of 
that place. From that moment Henry’s interest in 
France rapidly declined. However, he was carried to 
Paris, and there solemnly crowned with a double crown, 
in the cathedral church, on the 17th of December, 1430. 
At length, a truce was concluded between the two 
crowns, after which a marriage was brought about be¬ 
tween King Henry and Margaret of Anjou, daughter of 
Ren6, King of Sicily; a woman of great capacity, 
courage^ and ability. The English were now everywhere 
defeated, and the only places that remained to them in 
France were Calais, and the earldom of Guines. 

The unfortunate Joan of Arc was taken prisoner by 
the English, and accused of witchcraft; and afterwards 
burnt at Rouen, by the order of the Duke of Bedford. 

The Rival Claims to the English Throne. — In 
1450, Richard, Duke of York, began to entertain the 
design of aspiring to the throne. His right was cer¬ 
tainly preferable to that of the king. Henry derived 
his descent from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the 
third son of Edward III., while the Duke of York was 
descended from Lionel, the second son of that monarch. 
The Duke of York at last raised an army, for the pur¬ 
pose, as he pretended, of reforming the government. 
He was opposed by the Duke of Somerset; and a battle 
took place at St. Alban’s, when Somerset was killed, and 
the king, who was with him, taken prisoner. The 
queen, Margaret, continued the contest; and several 
battles took place, with various success. At length the 
queen’s forces were defeated at Northampton, by the 

Earl of Warwick, brother to the Duchess of York ; and 

H9 


HENRY THE SIXTH. 


the king, who had joined the queen, was again taken 
prisoner. The Duke of York now openly claimed the 
crown. The parliament refused to dethrone Henry, 
but declared that the Duke should be his successor. 
The Duke of York, however, was killed in an engage¬ 
ment with Margaret’s forces, at Wakefield-green, in 
14GO ; and this, for a time, turned the scale, and sunk 
the interest of the House of York. 

Edward, the Duke of York’s eldest son, revived the 
quarrel; and, putting himself at the head of his party, 
became a favourite of the people. He soon obliged 
Margaret to retire from London ; and entering the city 
amidst general acclamations, was proclaimed by the title 
of Edward the Fourth, on the 4th of March, 1461. 

Margaret retired to the North, and being again joined 
by a large army, she met Edward and the Earl of War¬ 
wick at Towton, in Yorkshire, on the 29th March, and 
a battle took place in which her army was routed ; and 
as Edward had ordered that no quarter should be given, 
thirty-six thousand of the Lancasterians were killed in 
the field or the pursuit. She was again totally defeated 
at Hexham : the king remained some time in conceal¬ 
ment, but was discovered and confined in the Tower. 
The queen escaped to Flanders. 

Edward, now for a time in possession of the throne, 
disgusted the people by his misconduct; and having 
insulted and slighted the Earl of Warwick, to whom he 
was indebted for the crown, that powerful nobleman 
turned against him, and headed an extensive party 
formed to restore King Henry. Warwick became re¬ 
conciled to the queen, and in a few days they were at 
the head of an army of sixty thousand men. Edward 

was now obliged to fly to Holland, and Henry was once 
120 


EDWARD THE FOURTH. 


more for a few months King of England. His title was 
confirmed by the parliament ; and Warwick obtained 
among the people the name of the King-maker , or the 
setter-up and puller-down of kings. 

Henry’s reign is rendered memorable by the insurrec¬ 
tion in 1450, of Jack Cade, an Irishman, who, assuming 
the name of Mortimer, pretended that he was related to 
the Duke of York. He defeated fifteen thousand of the 
king’s troops in a regular engagement, and entered 
London in triumph; where, striking the London stone 
in Cannon Street with his sword, he exclaimed, “ Now, 
Mortimer is lord of this city.” He caused Cromer, 
Sheriff of Kent, and Lord Say, an unpopular minister, 
to be beheaded; but at length, being driven out of 
London, and finding himself deserted by his followers, 
who had quarrelled about the division of their plunder, 
he fled into Kent, and was killed by a gentleman named 
Eden, in whose garden he had concealed himself. 


XYI. 

CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE FOURTH. 

Edward the Fourth was a prince of the most ele¬ 
gant person, and insinuating address ; endowed with the 
utmost fortitude and intrepidity; possessed of uncom¬ 
mon sagacity and penetration ; but was vindictive, per¬ 
fidious, profligate, and cruel; and seemed to have the 
same pleasure in witnessing an execution as a pageant. 
He appears to have possessed not one liberal thought, 
nor one single sentiment of humanity. 


121 



EDWARD THE FOURTH. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Rival Claims continued. —Some time after Ed¬ 
ward’s expulsion and flight to Holland, trusting to his 
partisans in England, he ventured to return. Though 
at first coldly received, his followers increased, and 
London, when he appeared before it, opened its gates. 
Henry, after a shadowy sovereignty of seven months was 
again pulled from the throne, and Warwick’s party daily 
diminished. He, therefore, found it necessary to bring 
the contest to the issue of a battle. The contending 
parties met at Barnet, on the 14th of April, 1471, and, 
after a desperate engagement, Warwick’s troops were 
entirely defeated, and himself and his brother, the Mar¬ 
quis of Montague, slain. 

Queen Margaret had just returned from France, where 
she had been soliciting supplies, when she received the 
news of Warwick’s defeat and death. Her fortitude 
gave way under this terrible shock, and she sank sense¬ 
less on the ground. She now resolved, with her remain¬ 
ing followers, to make another effort, and met Edward’s 
army at Tewkesbury. Here her troops were likewise 
defeated. The Duke of Somerset and a number of other 
persons of distinction were dragged from a church, in 
which they had taken refuge, and beheaded. The queen 
and her youthful son were brought before Edward, who 
asked the young prince, in an insulting manner, how he 
dared to invade his dominions 1 The spirited boy 
replied, “ I came to recover my father’s kingdom ! ” on 
which the brutal tyrant struck him on the face with his 
gauntlet, and the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester 

stabbed him with their daggers. Margaret and her 
122 


EDWARD THE FIFTH. 


husband were thrown into the Tower, where, it is 
generally believed, the unfortunate Henry was murdered 
by the Duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III). 
Margaret, after being five years in the Tower, was 
ransomed by the King of France for fifty thousand 
crowns. 

Edward the Fourth now kept unmolested possession 
of the throne. His reign presents no feature worthy of 
particular notice, with the exception of the introduction 
of the art of printing into England, which took place in 
1471, by one Caxton, a mercer ; the first printing press 
was set up in Islip’s chapel, Westminster abbey, under 
the patronage of the abbot. 

King Edward died at Westminster, on the 9th of 
April, 1483, and was interred in St. George’s Chapel, 
Windsor, near the unfortunate Henry, his predecessor, 
whose tomb speaks a moral lesson to the spectator. 

“ Here o’er the ill-fated king the marble weeps, 

And fast beside him once fear’d Edward sleeps ; 

Whom not the extended Albion could contain, 

From old Belerium to the northern main ; 

The grave unites, where e’en the great find rest, 

And blended lie the oppressor and the oppress’d.” 


XVII. 

EDWARD THE FIFTH. 

This unfortunate young king reigned only two 
months and thirteen days. 

He was the eldest son of Edward the Fourth, and 

123 



EDWARD THE FIFTH. 


was born in 1470. When his father died he was at 
Ludlow, but being sent for to London, he, on the 4th 
of May, received the oaths of the principal nobility; 
and his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was made 
protector of the kingdom. Lie prevailed upon the 
queen-mother to deliver up to him her youngest son, 
the Duke of York, the young king’s brother, and sent 
them both to the Tower, under pretence of their wait¬ 
ing there till all was prepared for the coronation. 
Richard now proceeded to rid himself of those who 
might hinder the accomplishment of his design. He 
despatched orders to behead Lord Rivers and others, 
whom he had imprisoned in Pontefract Castle; and 
then summoned a council in the Tower, which was 
attended among others by Lord Hastings, a nobleman 
who had shown a disposition to oppose his intentions. 
While the council was sitting, he pretended he had 
discovered a plot against his life, ordered several of 
the members to be arrested, and Lord Hastings, whom 
he accused of sorcery, to be immediately beheaded ; 
swearing that he would not dine till he had seen 
his head. Hastings was accordingly hurried out to 
the little green in front of the Tower chapel, and be¬ 
headed on a log of wood that lay in the way. Mean¬ 
while, by the assistance of the Duke of Buckingham, 
Sir John Shaw, Lord Mayor of London, and Dr. 
Shaw his brother, he had the two young princes 
declared illegitimate, and then caused himself to be 
acknowledged King of England, pretending to accept 
the crown with reluctance. The queen and Jane 
Shore were accused of sorcery ; the latter was taken 
into custody, but released on doing penance. Sir 
Roger Brackenbury, lieutenant of the Tower, refusing 

124 


RICHARD THE THIRD. 


to comply with Richard’s cruel designs, he, for one 
night only, gave the command of that fortress to Sir 
James Tyrell, and he, as it is said, procured two vil¬ 
lains, named Forrest and Dighton, who in the dead of 
the night entered the chamber where the king and his 
brother lay asleep, and smothered them in the bed 
clothes. The bones of these unhappy children were 
discovered in the reign of Charles the Second, and 
buried in Westminster Abbey, where a monument to 
their memory is still to be seen. 


XVIII. 

CHARACTER OF RICHARD THE THIRD. 

Richard the Third was, through the whole course 
of his life, restrained by no principle of justice or 
humanity; and it appears that he endeavoured to main¬ 
tain the crown by the same fraud and violence which 
he had made use of to obtain it. 

He certainly possessed an uncommon solidity of 
judgment, a natural fund of eloquence, the most acute 
penetration, and such courage as no danger could dis¬ 
may. He was dark, silent, and reserved ; and such a 
complete master of dissimulation, that it was impossible 
to dive into his real sentiments, when he wished to 
conceal his designs. Fie is represented as having been 
small of stature, cloudy and forbidding in aspect, and 
so much deformed, that he was surnamed Crook-back; but 
this is doubtful; some writers say, on the contrary, 

125 



RICHARD THE THIRD. 


that he was tall, dignified, and handsome. He was the 
last king of the Plantagenet race. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Battle of Bosworth Field. —Richard having 
broken his promises to the Duke of Buckingham, who 
had been chiefly instrumental in placing him on the 
throne, that nobleman took up arms against him, in 
order to assist Henry, Earl of Richmond, the last 
branch of the House of Lancaster, to obtain the crown; 
but Buckingham being betrayed to the king’s officers 
at Shrewsbury, by a man who had been his servant, for 
the sake of a great reward offered for his apprehension, 
he was carried to Salisbury, and beheaded without any 
legal process. However, the Earl of Richmond obtain¬ 
ing assistance from the Duke of Brittany, soon made 
his appearance in Wales, with about two thousand 
men, which shortly increased to five thousand, and 
with this small army he engaged the king’s forces, 
consisting of sixteen thousand men, at Bosworth, in 
Leicestershire. The battle was fought on the 22nd of 
August, 1485, on a large flat piece of ground about 
three miles from the town. Lord Stanley, who com¬ 
manded a body of troops in Richard’s army, was pri¬ 
vately in the interest of Richmond ; and no sooner was 
the battle begun, than Stanley suddenly turned round 
with his men, and attacked the flank of Richard’s army, 
which could not withstand the shock. Richard seeing 
all was lost, rushed into the middle of the enemy, and 
fell, fighting with the fury of a maniac. After the 
battle, his body was found, stripped, and covered with 

wounds and dirt. It was thrown across a horse and 
126 


RICHARD THE THIRD. 


carried to Leicester, and interred in the Grey-friars 
church, without the least ceremony. Thus fell Richard 
the Third, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, after an 
infamous reign of two years. He was the only Eng¬ 
lish monarch since the conquest, that fell in battle, 
and the second who fought in his crown. Henry the 
Fifth appeared in his at Agincourt, which was the 
means of saving his life, by sustaining a stroke with a 
battle-axe, which cleft it. Richard’s falling off in the 
engagement, was taken up and secreted in a bush, 
where it was discovered by Sir Reginald Bray, and 
placed upon Henry’s head in the field. Hence arises 
the device of a crown in a hawthorn bush, at each 
end of Henry’s tomb in Westminster Abbey. 

Advancement of Civilisation. —Thus ended the 
royal line of the Plantagenets, which commenced with 
Henry the Second, and possessed the English throne for 
three hundred and thirty years. During the earlier part 
of that period, England advanced in commerce, and the 
arts of civilised life. It is said, that in Edward the 
Third’s reign, there were thirty thousand students in 
the University of Oxford. During the wars between 
the Houses of York and Lancaster, every pursuit was 
abandoned but that of arms; and the people again 
became fierce and barbarous. The art of printing, in¬ 
troduced into England by the celebrated William Cax- 
ton, became one means, under Providence, of spreading 
abroad that religious light, which led eventually to the 
Reformation. The writings of Wicklifie and others, 
exposing the errors and corruptions of the Church of 
Rome, were widely circulated ; and, as men became 
more enlightened, they grew weary of a church and 

a system, supported by superstition and intolerance. 

127 


HENRY THE SEVENTH. 


A rapid advance in religious information and general 
knowledge now commenced; and from this period, a 
corresponding improvement took place in the state of 
society. 


XIX. 

CHARACTER OF HENRY THE SEVENTH. 

In person, this prince is represented as being tall, 
straight, and well shaped, though slender ; of a grave 
aspect, and saturnine complexion. He inherited a 
natural fund of sagacity, which was much improved by 
study and experience ; nor was he deficient in personal 
bravery, or political courage. He was cool, distrustful, 
and designing; and of all the princes who had sat upon 
the throne of England, the most sordid and selfish. 
At the same time it must be admitted he was a wise 
legislator, assiduous in the exercise of religious duties, 
and exact in the administration of justice, when his 
own private interest was not concerned; though he 
frequently used religion and justice as cloaks for op¬ 
pression. His mind appears to have been actuated by 
two ruling passions, namely, the fear of losing his 
crown, and the desire of amassing riches; and these 
motives influenced his whole conduct. 

On the whole, however, notwithstanding the faults of 
his character, his policy was favourable to the rights 
and independence of the people, and his reign was of 
great benefit to the English nation. 


128 



HENRY THE SEVENTH. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

A few months after Henry’s coronation, he married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward the Fourth, thus 
strengthening his claim to the throne by uniting the 
Houses of York and Lancaster, and finally putting an 
end to the desolating strife of the rival Roses. 

Lambert Simnel, the Impostor.— Soon after he came 
to the throne Henry was disturbed by an insurrection, 
caused by one Lambert Simnel, who pretended that he 
was the Earl of Warwick, son of the late Duke of 
Clarence,, brother to Edward the Fourth. Being sup- 
£>orted by some of the nobility, this misguided youth 
claimed the crown, and having procured a body of 
foreign troops, landed in England; but not being joined 
by the people, as he expected, his adherents were routed 
by the king with great slaughter, and Simnel himself 
taken prisoner. He was afterwards pardoned, and 
made a turnspit in the king’s kitchen ; but those who 
had been concerned with him were punished by heavy 
fines. 

Perkin Warbeck’s Insurrection. — Another insur¬ 
rection of a similar kind, though of more formidable 
extent, broke out in 1493. A youth named Perkin 
Warbeck made his appearance, and pretended that he 
was the Duke of York (youngest son of Edward the 
Fourth), who, it was said, had escaped from the Tower 
by the assistance of the men hired to murder him and 
his unfortunate brother, the young king. Warbeck 
strongly resembled the family of Plantagenet; this 
greatly favoured the imposture, and he acted his part 

so skilfully, that multitudes of persons were deceived. 

129 


HENRI THE SEVENTH. 


He appeared at the court of the Duchess of Burgundy 
(sister of Edward the Fourth), and solicited protection 
as her nephew. It was believed that the Duchess was 
concerned in the scheme, though some represent her as 
being herself deceived. She received Warbeck with 
transports of joy, real or pretended, and treated him 
with the distinction due to the heir of the English 
crown. A confederacy began in England in his favour, 
but was discovered, and a number of persons engaged 
or suspected were taken and executed. 

Warbeck having failed in his attempt on the coast 
of Kent, and in another in Ireland, went to Scotland, 
and so entirely convinced James the Fourth of his being 
the Duke of York, that he warmly espoused his cause, 
gave him in marriage Lady Catherine Douglas, daughter 
of the Earl of Huntley, and invaded England. A treaty 
of peace, however, was soon concluded; and Warbeck 
finding his hopes of assistance from Scotland at an end, 
put himself at the head of an insurrection which had 
broken out in Cornwall, in consequence of some new 
tax. Being joined by three thousand of the discon¬ 
tented people, he laid siege to Exeter, but fled on the 
approach of the king’s troops. His wife fell into the 
king’s hands, who, pitying her hard fate, treated her 
kindly, and gave her a pension, which she enjoyed till 
her death. Perkin soon after gave himself up, and his 
life was spared, though he was kept in custody. Having- 
made his escape, however, he was re-taken, sent to the 
Tower, and shortly after hanged at Tyburn. 

Henry assisted the Emperor Maximilian against 
Charles the Eighth of France; he made war on the 
Scots; instituted the band of gentlemen-pensioners, 
and built the chapel adjoining Westminster Abbey, 

130 


HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


which still bears his name. He also founded several 
colleges, by which he obtained the character of a pious 
prince, and a friend to learning, though he was remark¬ 
able for avarice, and grievously oppressed his people by 
numberless exactions. He died at Richmond on the 
22nd of April, 1509, aged 52. 

A little before his death Henry published a general 
pardon to all his subjects, released from prison all 
debtors who did not owe more than forty shillings to 
any one man, paying their creditors out of his own 
purse; and by his will commanding his successor to 
make restitution to all men whom he had wronged, but 
to this desire his son paid no regard. It has been said 
that he left behind him 1,800,000Z. the greatest part of 
which he had extorted from his subjects. 


XX. 


CHARACTER OF HENRY THE EIGHTH. 

Henry the Eighth, before he became corpulent, was a 
prince of graceful and handsome personage, and com¬ 
manding aspect, rather imperious than dignified. He 
possessed a good understanding, which was not much 
improved by the nature of his education. In the early 
part of his reign, his pride and vanity seemed to have 
the ascendancy over all his other passions, though from 
the beginning to the end he was headstrong, and im¬ 
patient of contradiction or advice. He was prodigal, 
pedantic, and superstitious, and delighted in pomp and 



HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


pageantry, the baubles of a weak mind. His passions, 
soothed by adulation, rejected all restraint; and as he 
was an utter stranger to the fine feelings of the soul, he 
gratified them at the expense of justice and humanity, 
without remorse or compunction. From the abject 
compliance of his subjects he acquired the most despotic 
authority over them; and became rapacious, arbitrary, 
and so cruel, that he appeared to delight in sacrificing 
their lives to his own caprice. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Henry ascended the throne at the age of eighteen. 
His first remarkable act was the punishment of Empson 
and Dudley, two lawyers, whom his father had employed 
to extort money from the people by every way they 
could devise. Persons had been committed to prison 
by these agents of the late king, but never brought to 
trial; and were glad to purchase their liberty by the 
payment of heavy sums, which were called “ mitiga¬ 
tions,” or “ compositions.” By these and other exac¬ 
tions, Henry the Seventh amassed immense sums of 
money in his treasury. Henry the Eighth gratified the 
citizens of London, and indeed the whole nation, by 
ordering Empson and Dudley to be beheaded on Tower 
Hill, August, 1510. In the same year he engaged in a 
war with France, without any reasonable motive, and 
after an inglorious contest, concluded a peace in 1514. 
His arms were, however, more successful against the 
Scots, who, under James the Fourth, invaded England. 
They were totally defeated, and the king slain, with the 
greatest part of his nobility, on the 9th September, 
1513, in the memorable battle of Flodden. 

132 


HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


Commencement of the Reformation. —Henry, soon 
after his coronation, had married Catherine of Arragon, 
the widow of his brother Arthur. This marriage had 
subsisted many years, when, affecting to have scruples 
on account of its legality, he became desirous to have 
it dissolved. He applied to the Pope for a divorce, but 
the pontiff, unwilling to break with the Emperor of 
Germany, who was related to Queen Catherine, kept 
the matter in suspense, and Wolsey, the king’s minister, 
seconded this policy. At last, when Henry’s patience 
was almost exhausted, it was reported to him that a 
young ecclesiastic, named Cranmer, had said that the 
king should spend no more time in negotiating with 
the Pope, but should propose to all the universities of 
Europe the plain question, “ Can a man marry his 
brother’s widow 1” The king was highly pleased with 
this hint, and exclaimed, “ The man has got the right 
sow by the ear.” The advice was adopted, and opinions 
against the legality of the marriage were obtained. 
The queen was divorced, and Henry immediately mar¬ 
ried Anne Boleyn. Cranmer afterwards became Arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury, and enjoyed Henry’s confidence 
during the rest of his life. 

The Pope, on being informed of the divorce of Queen 
Catherine, pronounced against Henry the sentence ol 
excommunication, at the same time declaring her to be 
his only lawful wife. This determined Henry to sepa¬ 
rate 'wholly from the Church of Rome, of which he had 
hitherto been a zealous adherent, and had even ac¬ 
quired the title of “ Defender of the Faith, ’ in conse¬ 
quence of having written a book against the doctrines 
of the Reformation. In the year 1534 he ivas declared 
by the parliament head of the Church, and the autho- 

133 


HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


rity of the Pope was abolished in England. In 1537, 
the Bible was first printed in English, and ordered to be 
used in the churches. In 1538, all the monasteries and 
nunneries were suppressed, and their estates and re¬ 
venues taken possession of by the king. 

This was the foundation of that great and important 
change in religious worship called “ The Reformation 
and which was followed, eventually, by the entire aboli¬ 
tion of the Roman Catholic Church (as a national esta¬ 
blishment), in this country. 

Cardinal Wolsey.— This extraordinary and am¬ 
bitious prelate, who had risen from a very mean origin, 
was at one time Pope’s Legate, Archbishop of York, and 
Lord Chancellor of England; and in 1515 became 
Prime Minister. He held the bishoprics of Durham 
and Winchester successively, the Abbey of St. Albans 
in commendam, and the bishoprics of Lincoln, Bath, 
and Hereford, in farm ; and had the disposal of all 
ecclesiastical benefices, so that his revenues were equal 
to those of the crown. He built the palace of Hampton 
Court, and in 1525 gave it to the king his master. 

Eor some time before the king’s separation from Ca¬ 
therine, Wolsey had been declining in favour, in con¬ 
sequence of his opposition to Henry’s wishes. He now 
fell into total disgrace, and was ordered to retire to his 
diocese of York, but was soon afterwards arrested on a 
charge of high treason. On his way to London he was 
taken ill, and died in Leicester Abbey. In his last 
moments he regretted, in striking terms, that he had 
not served his God with the same fidelity he had used 
towards the king. He died on the 29th of November 
1530. He is said to have taken poison, in order to put 
an end to his miserable life. 


134 


HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


The conduct of Henry the Eighth in his domestic 
concerns is without a parallel in history. ITe had six 
wives, and some of them very remarkable for their 
beauty; but none of them enjoyed much happiness- 
Catherine of Arragon was cruelly divorced. Anne 
Boleyn was wrongfully beheaded. Jane Seymour pro¬ 
bably escaped the same fate, only by dying about a 
year after her marriage. Anne of Cleves was arbitrarily 
divorced. Catherine Howard was somewhat justly be¬ 
headed ; and Catherine Parr, his last wife, owed her 
escape more to her own prudence and good fortune, 
than the humanity of her husband. She was more than 
once in great danger, from her inclination to the re¬ 
formed religion ; but her address and caution saved her, 
and she retained the king’s favour till his death. 

Towards the end of his life Henry became more and 
more violent and tyrannical. The last objects of his 
cruelty were the aged Duke of Norfolk, who had long 
served him with fidelity, and the duke’s son, the Earl 
of Surrey, a young man of singular accomplishments. 
On a groundless pretence they were arrested. The son 
was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill; and the 
father’s life was saved the day before that on which he 
was to have been executed, by the death of the king 
himself. This event happened on the 28th of January, 
1547. Henry founded six new bishoprics, viz. West¬ 
minster, Oxford, Peterborough, Bristol, Chester, and 
Gloucester, all of which, except Westminster, are still 
episcopal sees. 


135 



EDWARD THE SIXTH. 


XXI. 

EDWARD THE SIXTH. 

This amiable young prince reigned only six years and 
five months ; and as he succeeded his father at nine 
years of age, he was little more than fifteen years old 
when he died. On his accession to the throne, his uncle 
the Duke of Somerset was appointed Protector of the 
kingdom during his minority. He showed great at¬ 
tachment to the principles of the Reformation which he 
had imbibed while young; and he is represented as a 
prince of a most promising disposition. He confirmed 
his father’s grant of St. Bartholomew’s and Christ’s 
Hospitals, and founded Bridewell and St. Thomas’s 
Hospitals. In addition to this he founded several 
schools, which were mostly endowed out of the church 
lands. He also kept a Journal, which is preserved in 
the British Museum, in which he regularly entered all 
the important transactions of his reign. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Reformation established. —The reign of Ed¬ 
ward the Sixth is remarkable for the establishment of 
the reformed religion. This “ glorious work” proceeded 
with steadiness and regularity. Somerset, the Protector, 
had long adopted the doctrines of the Reformers; and his 
first care was to appoint a commission, at the head of 
which was Archbishop Cranmer, and Ridley, afterwards 
Bishop of London, to draw up a book of articles for the 
use of the Church. In a very short time the greater 
part of the nation received the reformed doctrines and 

136 


EDWARD THE SIXTH. 


worship, though several distinguished persons still ad¬ 
hered to popery, among whom were Gardiner, Bishop 
ot Winchester, and the king’s elder sister, the Princess 
Mary. 

The Protector determined if possible to execute the 
late king’s project of uniting Scotland with England. 
He therefore demanded the young Queen of Scots in 
marriage for King Edward, but the same proposal being- 
made by France in behalf of the Dauphin, she was 
sent into that kingdom ; on which the duke invaded 
Scotland. At this time, the Reformation had made 
small progress there ; the queen-dowager (widow of 
James the Fifth,) was strongly attached to the Romish 
faith. Somerset totally defeated the Scots army at 
Pinkie, a few miles from Edinburgh, on the 10th of 
September, 1547. The young Queen of Scots was 
afterwards married to the Dauphin of France. 

Somerset, elated with his high dignity, forgot his 
original prudence and moderation. He put his own 
brother, Thomas, Lord Seymour, to death for some 
supposed personal injuries ; and by this cruel act, 
by his introduction of foreign troops into England, 
and by the great wealth he had acquired, he soon 
lost the favour of the people, and fell a victim to 
the arts of his enemies. He was impeached, and 
charged with a design to seize the king’s person, and to 
imprison the Earl of Warwick. For this he was con¬ 
demned, and the young king being in a manner forced 
to sign the warrant for his execution, he was beheaded 
on Tower-hill, on the 22nd of January, 1552. 

The Earl of Warwick, now Duke of Northumberland, 

succeeded to Somerset’s power, and assumed the office 

of Protector, and at length, on the king being taken 

137 


QUEEN MARY. 


ill, brought about a marriage between his fourth son 
Lord Guildford Dudley, and the Lady Jane Grey, eldest 
daughter to the Duke of Suffolk, and persuaded Edward 
to settle the crown on her ; his sisters, Mary and Eliza¬ 
beth, having both been declared illegitimate during the 
life of their father; and the young king, hoping to 
save the Reformation from impending destruction, ap¬ 
pointed the Lady Jane Grey as his successor. 

Immediately after this act, the king became rapidly 
worse. His physicians were dismissed by order of 
Northumberland, and he was put under the care of an 
ignorant old woman, who had undertaken to restore him 
to health. The use of her medicines appeared to in¬ 
crease the violence of the disease ; and the youthful 
monarch expired on the 6th of July, 1553, in the 
sixteenth year of his age, and the seventh of his reign. 
He was well skilled in the Latin and French tongues, 
and had obtained some knowledge of the Greek, Italian, 
and Spanish. His person was handsome, and he was 
remarkable for his piety and humanity. 


XXII. 

CHARACTER OF QUEEN MARY. 

Mary was the first 'princess that ever swayed the 
sceptre of England. The Empress, Matilda, was crown¬ 
ed during the reign of Stephen, but she was obliged to 
retire without performing any act of sovereignty. 

The chief characteristic of Queen Mary was bigotry, 

138 



QUEEN MARY. 


added to this she was proud, imperious, and avaricious ; 
and possessed of few agreeable qualifications. She was 
far from being happy, particularly in her marriage; for 
her husband, being much younger than herself, treated 
her with cold neglect and haughty reserve; and after 
a very short stay in England, left it, and never re¬ 
turned. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Lady J ane Grey. —Immediately after the death of 
King Edward, the Duke of Northumberland had his 
daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed Queen. 
This lady, a young woman of singular virtue and 
talents, had taken no part whatever in the transactions 
by which she was brought to the throne; indeed, she 
was totally ignorant of them. She received the news 
of her elevation with equal surprise and grief; but was 
obliged to yield to circumstances, and suffered herself 
to be conveyed to the Tower, where it was then usual 
for the sovereigns of England to reside some days after 
their accession. Learning, however, that the Princess 
Mary, determined to support her claim, was at the head 
of forty thousand men, she resigned the crown, and 
immediately retired to her own habitation. Her father- 
in-law endeavoured to quit the kingdom, hut was 
arrested. 

Mary now took undisputed possession of the throne. 
Northumberland, with several of his adherents, was 
condemned and executed. Sentence of death was also 
pronounced against Lady Jane Grey, and her husband 
Lord Dudley, a young man whose character resembled 
her own. This young couple, neither of whom had 

readied the age of eighteen, after a year’s imprisonment 

139 


QUEEN MARY. 


in the Tower, were both beheaded by Mary’s order. 
Their sad fate excited universal pity and indignation. 

Soon after Mary’s accession to the throne, she mar¬ 
ried Philip, afterwards King of Spain, son of the Em¬ 
peror Charles the Fifth, who was then living; and, in 
violation of the most sacred promises, immediately 
commenced a most dreadful persecution of the Pro¬ 
testants, which was carried on by Bonner, Bishop of 
London, and Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. Great 
numbers of persons suffered martyrdom at the stake, 
among whom were Cranmer, Bidley, Latimer, Hooper, 
and Ferrar ; and all the prisons in the kingdom were 
crowded with pious sufferers, who chose to submit to 
persecution, and even death, in the most horrible form, 
rather than violate their consciences. Even the Princess 
Elizabeth was closely watched, and obliged to conceal 
her religious sentiments. 

These inhuman persecutions, which began with persons 
of station and influence, soon extended to all classes 
and degrees. Even women and children were among 
the victims. During four years, in which these pro¬ 
ceedings lasted, near three hundred persons were put to 
death at the stake; among whom were one archbishop, 
four bishops, twenty-one clergymen, eight gentlemen, 
eighty-four tradesmen and artificers, a hundred hus¬ 
bandmen, servants, and labourers, fifty-five women, and 
four children. 

The last remarkable event in Mary’s reign, was her 
engaging the nation in a war, which her husband was 
carrying on against France. Its result was the loss of 
Calais, which had been in the possession of England 
above two hundred years. This circumstance occa¬ 
sioned a clamorous discontent among the people, and 

140 


QUEEN ELIZABETH. 


so afflicted the queen, that she was heard to say, that 
when dead, the name of Ccilciis would be found engraven 
on her heart. She did not long survive it, but died on 
the 17th of November, 1558, in the forty-third year of 
her age, after a cruel reign of five years and four 
months. She was buried in Henry the Seventh’s chapel, 
Westminster Abbey. 


XXIII. 

CHARACTER OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

Elizabeth is represented by the Papists as a monster 
of cruelty, which is not to be wondered at, considering 
her severity to therm It is, indeed, difficult to excuse 
her beheading Mary Queen of Scots, and the rigour 
with which she sometimes punished both Papists and 
Protestant dissenters ; but she certainly understood the 
art of governing in an eminent degree, and, by her wise 
administration, raised England to a high pitch of pros¬ 
perity and power. Her Court was the school of able 
ministers, great statesmen, and distinguished warriors. 
She understood the Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and 
Dutch languages, and makes a considerable figure among 
the learned ladies of her time. Her conversation was 
sprightly and agreeable, her judgment solid, and her 
application indefatigable. But though she possessed 
all the highest qualities of a monarch, she had a large 
share of the weaknesses of a woman ; being excessively 
vain of her person, very open to flattery, and remarkably 

141 



QUEEN ELIZABETH. 


susceptible of tender feelings ; and her glorious reign, 
on which Providence for a long time poured innume¬ 
rable blessings, ended at length in a most dismal man¬ 
ner, occasioned, it was generally believed, by the death 
of her favourite minister, the Earl of Essex. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Re-establishment of the Protestant Faith. — 
Elizabeth, immediately after her accession, proceeded to 
re-establish the Protestant religion. She began by re¬ 
calling all who were banished, and setting free all who 
were in prison for their religious opinions ; and her first 
parliament passed a series of acts which settled the Reli¬ 
gion of the State in the manner in which we have ever 
since enjoyed it. She also assisted the Protestants in 
Scotland, France, and the Netherlands, against their 
respective sovereigns, by whom they were cruelly op¬ 
pressed and persecuted. 

Mary Queen of Scots. —The events of Mary’s un¬ 
happy life belong to the history of Scotland. When she 
had been deprived of the crown, and forced to take 
refuge in England, Elizabeth, prompted by personal dis¬ 
like, as well as apprehension of the claims of a rival to 
the English throne, treated her with a persevering cru¬ 
elty, which has fixed a deep stain on the memory of the 
English queen. Though Mary had entered the king¬ 
dom as a suppliant for protection, she kept her for eigh¬ 
teen years in confinement, on the pretext that she had 
been guilty of crimes in her own country ; and at last, 
procured her condemnation on the charge that she was 
concerned in a conspiracy against Elizabeth’s life. A 
conspiracy of this nature had been attempted, in which 

142 


QUEEN ELIZABETH. 


one Babington was implicated, together with some Po¬ 
pish priests from the seminaries abroad ; but being dis¬ 
covered, they were, to the number of fourteen, con¬ 
demned and executed. As the Queen of Scots appeared 
by some letters to have known something about it, 
Elizabeth resolved to prosecute her under an act of par¬ 
liament, made the preceding year, whereby the person 
by whom, or for whom, anything should be attempted 
against the life of the queen, was liable to suffer death. 
Commissioners were accordingly sent to try her at Foth- 
eringay Castle, in Northamptonshire, where she was in 
custody ; and the sentence which they passed upon her 
was confirmed by Elizabeth, and on the 7th of February, 
1587, she was beheaded. She suffered with great calm¬ 
ness and resignation. 

The Spanish Armada. —Philip of Spain, shortly 
after the death of Mary, Queen of England, made pro¬ 
posals of marriage to her sister Elizabeth, and deeply 
resented her refusal of him. Actuated by this feeling, 
and a desire to support the Romish religion, he deter¬ 
mined to invade England. For this purpose he raised 
an army of sixty thousand men, and equipped a fleet of 
one hundred and thirty ships, larger than any that had 
ever been seen in Europe. 

The expected arrival of this great fleet, which had 
been called “ The Invincible Armada,” filled England 
with terror ; but the queen, undismayed, mustered the 
forces of her kingdom. They were greatly inferior 
to those of Philip, but derived confidence from the 
example of the queen. She visited the camp, at Til¬ 
bury Fort, near Gravesend, rode through the ranks, and 
addressed the soldiers in animating language, (i I know,” 
said she, “ that I have but the body of a weak and 

143 


QUEEN ELIZABETH. 


feeble woman ; but that I have the heart of a king, and 
of a King of England, too ; and think it foul scorn that 
Parma, or Spain, or any prince of Europe should dare 
to invade the borders of my realms; to which, rather 
than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will 
take arms; I myself will be your general, judge, and 
rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field !” 

In the meantime, the Armada sailed ; but the un¬ 
wieldy vessels were much damaged by stormy weather 
before they neared the English coast. They were met 
by the small but active English fleet, under the Earl of 
Effingham as admiral, and Drake, Hawkins, and For- 
bisher, as vice-admirals; who, instead of coming to a 
close encounter, hovered about them, and cut off the 
straggling vessels as they sailed up the Channel. At 
last, the Spaniards came to anchor off Calais, expecting 
to be joined there by the Duke of Parma. Effingham 
sent eight fire-ships among them, and, profiting by the 
confusion thus caused, attacked, and completely dis¬ 
persed them. They were so terrified by the fire-ships, 
that they cut their cables, and put to sea in the utmost 
confusion ; the English admirals took and burnt twelve 
of their ships, and the rest were almost entirely de¬ 
stroyed by tempests. In short, the poor Spaniards re¬ 
solved to make the best of their way home ; and of this 
prodigious and boasted armament only fifty-three ships 
returned to Spain, and those in a shattered condition. 
Queen Elizabeth went to St. Paul’s Cathedral to return 
thanks to God for this decisive victory. 

In 1596, Queen Elizabeth sent out a fleet and army 
under Howard, Essex, and Sir Walter Raleigh, to the 
coasts of Spain, which plundered Cadiz, burnt the mer¬ 
chant-ships at Porto-Real, took and destroyed thirteen 

144 


JAMES THE FIRST. 


Spanish men-of-war, and did other considerable damage. 
In 1598, Henry the Fourth of France having entered 
into a separate treaty of peace with the King of Spain, 
Queen Elizabeth and the States entered into a new 
treaty to carry on the war against that monarch by 
themselves. On the 25th of February, 1601, Robert 
Devereux, Earl of Essex, was beheaded. 

Queen Elizabeth died on the 24th March, 1603, in 
the seventieth year of her age, and the forty-fifth of 
her reign, after having named the Scottish King, James 
the Sixth, for her successor. She was interred in the 
chapel of Henry the Seventh, Westminster Abbey. 

The first Royal Exchange in the City of London, was 
founded in this reign by Sir Thomas Gresham, 1566. 


XXIV. 

CHARACTER OF JAMES THE FIRST. 

James the Sixth of Scotland and the First of England 
was of a middle stature, inclining to corpulency ; his 
address was awkward, his aspect mean, and his appear¬ 
ance slovenly. There was nothing dignified either in 
the composition of his mind or person. In the course 
of his reign he exhibited repeated instances of his ridi¬ 
culous vanity, prejudices, folly, and littleness of soul. 
All that we can add in his favour is, that he was averse 
to cruelty and injustice, temperate in his living, kind 
to his servants, and desirous of acquiring the love of 
his subjects ; by granting that as a favour which they 

145 



JAMES THE FIRST. 


claimed as a right. His reign, though ignoble to him¬ 
self, was nevertheless beneficial to his people, who were 
enriched bj commerce which no war interrupted. He 
was descended from Margaret, the daughter of Henry 
the Seventh, and with him began the reign of the Stu¬ 
arts in England. He united the crowns of England 
and Scotland, and took the title of King of Great 
Britain. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Sir Walter Pvaleigh.— In the first year of James’s 
reign, a conspiracy was discovered, the object of which 
was to place upon the throne the Lady Arabella Stuart, 
who was also descended from Henry the Seventh, and, 
after James, the next heir to the crown. Of this con¬ 
spiracy little is known ; but what renders it memorable, 
is the concern which the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh 
had in it. He, with several others, was condemned to 
death; but he was reprieved, and kept for thirteen 
years in confinement. He was afterwards set at liberty, 
and employed in an enterprise against the Spaniards in 
South America. Being unsuccessful, he returned to 
England, and was again imprisoned, and finally exe¬ 
cuted, in pursuance of his former sentence. This piece 
of injustice and cruelty appears to have proceeded from 
the king’s desire to be on amicable terms with the Court 
of Spain, a marriage being then in contemplation be¬ 
tween his son Charles and the daughter of the King of 
Spain. 

The Gunpowder Plot.— In the year 1605, the con¬ 
spiracy so well known by the name of the Gunpowder 
Plot, was discovered. The Romanists being disap¬ 
pointed in their expectations that James would become 

146 


JAMES THE FIRST. 


a member of that faith, formed a plan for the destruc¬ 
tion both of the king and parliament. The leaders 
were Catesby, a gentleman of good family ; and Percy, a 
descendant of the house of Northumberland. They em¬ 
ployed a fellow named Guy Fawkes, who hired a vault 
under the House of Lords, as if for the purpose of con¬ 
taining fuel, in which he concealed thirty-six barrels of 
gunpowder, with the intention of blowing up the build¬ 
ing, while the king was opening the session of parlia¬ 
ment. 

A short time before the meeting, Lord Monteagle, 
one of the peers, received a letter from an unknown 
hand, warning him not to attend the parliament. This 
nobleman laid the letter before the council, who were 
at a loss to conjecture its meaning ; but the king’s 
sagacity suspected the truth ; and it was resolved to 
examine the vaults beneath the building. This, how¬ 
ever, was purposely delayed till the night before the 
execution of the plot; and the officers then found Guy 
Fawkes in the vault, disguised in a cloak, with a dark 
lanthorn, and tinder box and matches in his pocket, 
prepared to set fire to the powder. He was seized, and 
being put to the torture, divulged the whole of the 
conspiracy. Catesby and Percy fled to Warwickshire, 
where another party was already in arms. They were 
surrounded in a house where they had collected them¬ 
selves, and after a desperate resistance, these leaders 
and several others were killed on the spot. Guy 
Fawkes and two Jesuits named Oldcorn and Garnet, 
with the other accomplices, were executed. 

Henry, Prince of Wales, James’s eldest son died in 

1612, when scarce eighteen years of age. He was a 

most amiable and accomplished prince, and a patron of 

147 



CHARLES THE FIRST. 


learning and science. Granger says, “ Arms, literature, 
and business, engaged the attention of this excellent 
young prince, who seems to have had neither leisure nor 
inclination for the pursuits of vice or pleasure. The 
dignity of his behaviour, and his manly virtues, were 
respected by every rank and order of men. Though he 
was snatched away in the early prime of life, he had 
the felicity to die in the height of his popularity and 
fame, and before he had experienced any of the miseries 
which awaited the royal family. It is remarkable, that 
the king, who thought himself eclipsed by the splendour 
of his character, ordered that no mourning should be 
worn for him.” 

King James died at Theobald’s on the 27th of March, 
1625, aged fifty-five, having reigned in England twenty- 
two years ; and left his crown to his second son Charles. 


XXY. 

CHARACTER OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 

Charles the First was a prince of melancholy as¬ 
pect, long visage, and pale complexion. He was of a 
middling stature, robust, and well proportioned. His 
perception was clear and acute, his judgment sound and 
decisive. In his private morals he was altogether un¬ 
blemished and exemplary; and, by his excellent con¬ 
duct when young, he had much endeared himself to the 
nation; but his education had given him by far too 
exalted an idea of the power of the crown, and to this 

148 



CHARLES THE FIRST. 


in a great measure his fall may be attributed. In ad¬ 
dition to this, he suffered himself to be guided by coun¬ 
sellors, who were not only inferior to himself in know¬ 
ledge and judgment, but generally proud, partial, and 
inflexible; and he paid too much deference to the 
advice and desires of his consort, who was supersti- 
tiously attached to the errors of popery. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Civil War. —The whole of this reign was a con¬ 
tinued series of struggles between the king, who wanted 
to assume to himself the absolute power of disposing of 
his subjects’ property, and leaving their grievances un¬ 
redressed ; and the parliament, who were willing to 
grant the necessary supplies, provided their grievances 
were redressed, and the right privileges of the subject 
secured ; and these struggles at last produced a civil 
war. The first encounter between the armies of the 
king and parliament, was at Edgehill, on the 23rd of 
October, 1642. The first campaigns between the con¬ 
tending forces were favourable to the king; but the 
royalists suffered a total defeat at Marston Moor, in 
1644. In this battle, the military talents of Oliver 
Cromwell were first brought into notice. On the 14th 
of June, 1645, was fought the famous battle of Naseby, 
which decided the quarrel between the king and the 
parliament, wherein the forces of the latter gained a 
complete victory; which was achieved principally by 
the courage and conduct of Cromwell. The king fled 
to Oxford ; but upon the approach of General Fairfax, 
his majesty threw himself into the hands of the Scots 
army, which had come to the assistance of the parlia- 

149 


CHARLES THE FIRST. 


ment, and was then besieging Newark. Charles’s con¬ 
fidence in their loyalty was misplaced ; for they agreed 
to deliver him up, on receiving a large sum of money. 
He was conveyed to Holmby Castle, Northamptonshire, 
and afterwards to Hampton Court; but having at¬ 
tempted to escape out of the kingdom, he was seized on 
the coast of Hampshire, and closely imprisoned in 
Carisbrook Castle in the Isle of Wight. 

Meanwhile, the parliament made an effort to resist 
the tyranny of Cromwell and the army ; hut Cromwell 
put an end to their existence, by a bold and decisive 
act. Colonel Pride, at the head of an armed force, 
surrounded the house, and excluded all the members 
but about sixty of the most furious Independents, who 
were favourable to Cromwell’s intentions. 

It now only remained to dispose of the king; and 
his death was speedily resolved upon. To accomplish 
this wickedness, a vote was passed, declaring it treason 
for a king to levy war against his parliament, and the 
king was then brought to trial, for acts committed 
before this law was in existence. The Commons re¬ 
quired the concurrence of the House of Lords, in this 
gross injustice ; but that body unanimously refused it ; 
and they then voted that the consent of the upper house 
was unnecessary. 

A court, consisting chiefly of officers of the army, 
was appointed by the House of Commons to try the 
king. Being brought before this tribunal on three 
several days, he refused to acknowledge their right to 
sit in judgment on him. On the fourth day they ex¬ 
amined some witnesses, to show that he had been in 
arms against the parliament, and then condemned him 
to suffer death on the scaffold. While being conveyed 

150 


CHARLES THE FIRST. 


to and from this infamous court, he was grossly insulted 
by the soldiers and rabble, one of whom spat in his 
face. “ Poor souls !” he calmly said, “they would treat 
their own generals in the same way for sixpence.” A 
soldier, moved by pity, implored a blessing on him, 
on which he was knocked down by his officer. The 
king remarked that the punishment exceeded the 
offence. 

It is recorded, that after he had received sentence of 
death, he spent his few last days in devout exercises. 
He refused to see his friends, and ordered them to be 
told that his time was precious, and the best thing they 
could do, was to pray for him. On Monday, the day 
before his execution, two of his children were brought 
to take their leave of him, viz., the lady Elizabeth, and 
the Duke of Gloucester. He first gave his blessing to 
the lady Elizabeth, bidding her, that when she should 
see her brother James, she should tell him that it was 
his father’s desire, that he should no more look upon his 
brother Charles as his eldest brother only, but be 
obedient to him as his sovereign ; and that they should 
love one another, and forgive their father’s enemies. 
Then he added, “ Sweetheart, you will forget this. ’ 
“ Ho,” said she, “ I shall never forget it as long as I live.” 
He bade her not grieve and torment herself for him ; for 
it would be a glorious death he should die, it being for 
the laws and liberties of this land, and for maintaining 
the true Protestant religion. After this, he took the 
Duke of Gloucester, a child then about seven years of 
of age, upon his knees, saying to him, “ Sweetheart, 
now they will cut off thy father’s headupon which 
the child looked up with great earnestness upon him. 
The king proceeding, said, “ Mark, child, what I say, 

151 


CHARLES THE FIRST. 


they will cut off my head, and perhaps make thee a 
king ; but you must not be a king, so long as your 
brothers Charles and James do live; for they will cut 
off your brothers’ heads when they can catch them, 
and thine too at last: and therefore I charge you, don’t 
be made a king by them.” At which the child fetched 
a deep sigh, and said, “ I will be torn in pieces first.” 
Which expression, coming from a child so young, occa¬ 
sioned no little joy to the king. 

On the 30th of January, 1649, King Charles was 
brought from St. James’s Palace to Whitehall, and there 
beheaded in front of the Banqueting house, in the 
forty-ninth year of his age, and the twenty-fourth of 
his reign. “ When he was arrived on the scaffold, he 
made a long address to Colonel Tomlinson : and after¬ 
wards turning to Colonel Hacker, he said, ‘'Take 
care you do not put me to pain.’ Then, turning to¬ 
wards the executioner (who was masked), he said, ‘I 
shall say but very short prayers, and when I thrust out 

my hands -.’ Then he asked the bishop for his 

cap, which, when he had put on, he said to the exe¬ 
cutioner,‘Does my hair trouble you?’who desiring it 
might be put under his cap, it was put up by the 
bishop and the executioner. Turning to the bishop, he 
said, ( I have a good cause, and a gracious God on my 
side;’ to which the bishop answered, ‘ There is but one 
stage more, which though turbulent and troublesome, 
yet it is a very short one; it will carry you from earth 
to heaven ; and there you will find to your great joy,— 
a crown of glory !’ the king added, £ I go from a cor¬ 
ruptible to an incorruptible crown, where no disturb¬ 
ance is.’ After which, putting off his cloak, doublet, 
and his George, he gave the latter to the bishop, saying, 

152 



CROMWELL. 


1 Remember.’ He wished the block might have been a 
little higher, but it was answered it could not be other¬ 
wise now. The king said, ‘ When I put out my hands 

this way, then-.’ He prayed a few words standing, 

with his hands and eyes lifted towards heaven, and 
then stooping down, laid his neck on the block. After 
a little time, the king stretched forth his hand, and 
the executioner took off his head at one stroke. When 
his head was held up to the people, there was nothing 
to be heard but shrieks and groans and sobs ; the un¬ 
merciful soldiers beating down poor people for this 
little tender of their affection to their prince. Thus 
died the worthiest gentleman, the best master, the best 
friend, the best father, and the best Christian, that the 
age in which he lived produced.”* 


CROMWELL, AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 

CHARACTER OF CROMWELL. 

Oliver Cromwell was the son of a private gentle¬ 
man, of Huntingdon, and was born on the 24th of 
April, 1599. Being the son of a second brother, he 
inherited a very small paternal fortune. From accident 
or intrigue, he was chosen member for Cambridge, in 
the long parliament; but he seemed at first to possess 
no talents for oratory ; his person being ungraceful, his 
dress slovenly, and his elocution homely, tedious, ob- 


* Clarendon. 


153 




CROMWELL. 


scure and embarrassed. He made up, however, by 
zeal, what he wanted in natural powers ; and, being 
endowed with unshaken intrepidity and dissimulation, 
he rose through the gradations of preferment, to the 
post of lieutenant-general, under Fairfax ; but, in 
reality possessing the supreme command of the whole 
army; and after a series of wonderful successes in 
England, Ireland, and Scotland, prompted by am¬ 
bition, and aided by the most dexterous ingenuity and 
effrontery, he actually assumed the absolute dictator¬ 
ship of the British nation. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

After the death of King Charles, the House of Com¬ 
mons published a proclamation, forbidding all persons 
on pain of death, to acknowledge the late king’s son, 
or any other as sovereign of England. They likewise 
abolished the House of Lords, thus taking into their own 
hands the sovereignty of the kingdom. 

Their own House, which should be composed of five 
hundred and thirteen members, consisted then only of 
eighty ; a new great seal was ordered to be made, on 
which was engraven these words, “ The Parliament and 
Commonwealth of England.” The king’s statue in the 
Royal Exchange had been already pulled down, and 
now this inscription was fixed in its place, “ Charles, 
the last king, and the first tyrant.” 

Escape of Charles II.—After the decisive battle of 
Worcester, in which he was totally defeated by Crom¬ 
well, Charles, in his endeavours to escape from the 
kingdom, encountered many hardships, and met with 
some of the most singular and romantic adventures. 

154 


CROMWELL. 


He wandered about the country for six weeks in all 
sorts of disguises, sometimes dressed as a postilion, 
sometimes in woman’s apparel, and sometimes as a 
woodcutter. On one occasion be was obliged to pass a 
day and a night among the branches of an oak tree, 
where he actually heard the voices of the soldiers in 
pursuit of him. Here Charles and his companion 
Colonel Carlos climbed, by means of a henroost ladder ; 
and the family of the house (Boscobel) supplied them 
with victuals by means of the nut-hook. This tree is 
still standing, and is enclosed with a brick wall. 
Charles was obliged to travel almost alone through bye- 
paths and unfrequented roads, half spent with hunger 
and fatigue, till at length he found means to escape 
from the coast of Sussex, in a small fishing-boat, and 
was safely landed in Normandy. 

The Commonwealth. —After the battle of Worcester, 
Cromwell returned to London, where he was met by the 
Speaker of the House of Commons, accompanied by the 
mayor and magistrates of the City in their formalities, 
and entertained by them at a public dinner, where the 
same honours were shown to him as had been paid to 
the kings. He began now to complain of the long par¬ 
liament, which, on the 20th of April, 1653, he dissolved 
by force; and two days after published*a declaration of 
his reasons, signed by himself and his council of officers. 
On December 16th, he assumed the title of Lord Pro¬ 
tector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland ; and thus, in effect, became the absolute King 
of Great Britain. He, however, applied himself dili¬ 
gently to the management of the several parties in and 
out of the parliament, and supplied the courts of justice 
in Westminster Hall with the ablest lawyers, but acted 

155 


CROMWELL. 


in the most arbitrary and oppressive manner, where his 
own interest was concerned. 

He obtained an act of parliament abolishing roy¬ 
alty in Scotland, and annexing that country as a 
conquered province to England. War was then de¬ 
clared against the Dutch, in consequence of the am¬ 
bassadors from the parliament to Holland having been 
murdered by the royalists there. During this war, 
several great engagements at sea took place between 
the English admiral, Blake, and the Dutch Admiral, 
Van Tromp; and at length the Dutch, humbled by 
repeated defeats, sued for peace. 

In 1657, the parliament agreed to offer Cromwell the 
title of King ; but, as he found this proposition disagree¬ 
able to his best friends, he declined it, and resolved 
upon a new inauguration, which was accordingly per¬ 
formed in Westminster Hall, June 26th, with all the 
splendour of a coronation. 

His latter days were miserable, his favourite daughter 
on her death-bed upbraided him with his crimes. Con¬ 
spiracies were formed against him, and a book was 
written entitled “ Killing no Murder,” to show that to 
kill him would be an act of virtue. Cromwell read this 
book, and is said never to have smiled afterwards. He 
wore armour under his clothes, and constantly kept a 
loaded pistol in his pocket. He travelled in a great 
hurry, attended with a numerous guard ; never returned 
from any place by the road he went; and never slept 
above two or three nights in the same chamber. A 
tertian ague came at last to deliver him from this life 
of wretchedness and anxiety; and he died on the 3rd 
of September, 1658, in his fifty-ninth year, tie had 
usurped the government nine years. 

156 


CHARLES THE SECOND. 


Richard, his son, was the next day proclaimed Pro¬ 
tector ; he was mild, easy, and void of ambition ; and 
finding a strong party was formed against him among 
the republican officers, he very wisely resigned his office : 
thus ended the Commonwealth of England. Richard 
retired to live on his paternal fortune at Cheshunt, in 
Hertfordshire, where he died in 1712. 


XXVI. 

CHARACTER OF CHARLES THE SECOND. 

Charles the Second, after an exile of twelve years 
in France and Holland, was restored to the throne of 
his ancestors 29th May, 1660, by the assistance of 
General Monk, whom he afterwards created Duke of 
Albemarle. 

Charles was tall in stature; his complexion was 
swarthy, and marked with strong harsh lineaments. 
His penetration was keen, his judgment clear, his un¬ 
derstanding extensive, and his conversation lively and 
engaging. He was easy of access, polite and affable ; 
and his talents of wit and ridicule remarkable. Had 
he been limited to a private station, he would have 
passed for the most agreeable and best natured man of 
the age in which he lived. But these good qualities 
were overbalanced by his weakness and defects. He 
was irreligious, immoral, careless, and indolent; neither 
eager to punish his enemies, nor to reward his friends. 

Numbers who had lost everything in his service, suf- 

157 



CHARLES THE SECOND. 


fered total neglect. His lenity, as well as his ingrati¬ 
tude, proceeded from the insensibility of his temper. In 
the midst of gaiety and immorality, he entirely neglected 
the duties of his station ; and the country, following 
the example of the Court, strict severity of manners 
was all at once changed into the most shameful irre¬ 
gularity and profligacy. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

In 1662, the marriage between the king and Catha- 
rina, Infanta of Portugal, was solemnized. In 1663, 
the act of uniformity was carried into effect, by means 
of which the Church of England was freed from a great 
number of ministers, who refused to submit to her ritual 
as contained in the Book of Common Prayer. In 1664, 
war was declared against the Dutch, and on the 3rd 
of June a great victory was obtained over them at sea. 
In July there was another furious engagement, when 
the English gained a complete victory, destroying above 
twenty Dutch men-of-war, and driving the rest into 
their harbours; though England suffered the humili¬ 
ation of the Dutch fleet sailing up the Thames, and 
retiring in safety after burning three of our men-of- 
war in the river. This disgrace, happening in an un¬ 
necessary war, excited violent indignation among the 
people ; and the peace which followed was not concluded 
on terms calculated to appease the general discontent. 

The Plague.— During these transactions, a dreadful 
pestilence broke out in London, which destroyed above 
one hundred and thirty thousand of the inhabitants. 
This was called “ the Great Plague ; ” many others of 
less violence having visited England in preceding reigns. 

158 


CHARLES THE SECOND. 


It commenced in Long Acre, towards the close of 1664, 
and continued to rage over all parts of the metropolis 
with unabated malignancy till the end of the following 
year. In August and September, 1665, it was at its 
height ; fifty thousand persons perished in seven weeks. 

The Fire of London. —On the 2nd of September, 
1666, a terrible fire broke out in London, commencing 
in the neighbourhood of Eastcheap ; which continued 
to rage for three days, and laid a considerable portion 
of the City in ashes. It destroyed six hundred streets, 
including eighty-nine churches, many hospitals and 
public edifices, and thirteen thousand two hundred and 
two dwelling-houses. The ruins, comprehending four 
hundred and thirty-six acres of ground, extended from 
near the Tower, along the river, to the Temple church ; 
and north-east along the city walls to Ilolborn Bridge. 
Very few lives were lost, but thousands were reduced to 
beggary by the loss of all that belonged to them. The 
Monument in Fish-street Hill, was erected to mark the 
locality in which it began. 

The Bye-house Plot.— About the year 1683, a com¬ 
bination was formed by a number of distinguished per¬ 
sons to raise an insurrection against the king; but they 
appear to have differed widely in their objects. The 
Duke of Monmouth, a natural son of the king, aspired 
to succeed his father to the throne. Lord William 
Russell, of the House of Bedford, proposed the exclusion 
of the Duke of York as being a Papist, and demanded a 
redress of grievances ; while Algernon Sydney, it was be¬ 
lieved, wished to restore the republic. At the same time, 
a plot was entered into by a set of inferior persons to 
assassinate the king; it was called the Bye-house Plot, 

from the place where they assembled. It was dis- 

159 ' 


JAMES THE SECOND. 


covered, and Lord Russell and Algernon Sydney were 
accused of being concerned in it; and were condemned 
and executed, though there was not the slightest legal 
proof of their guilt. In January, 1685, King Charles 
was seized with an apoplectic fit; and though he was 
recovered by bleeding, he lingered only a few days, and 
died on the 6th of February, in the fifty-fifth year of 
his age, after a reign of near twenty-five years. He 
was buried in the Chapel of Henry the Seventh, West¬ 
minster Abbey. 

In 1660 the Royal Society was established. In 1675 
the present St. Paul’s Cathedral was commenced build¬ 
ing by Sir Christopher Wren. 


XXVII. 

CHARACTER OF JAMES THE SECOND. 

James the Second was a prince in whom some good 
qualities were rendered ineffectual by mistaken notions 
of the prerogative, excessive bigotry to the Romish faith, 
and an inflexible severity of temper. He was brave, 
steady, diligent, upright, and sincere, except when 
warped by religious considerations; yet, even where 
religion was not concerned, he appears to have been 
proud and vindictive, and though he had proved him¬ 
self an obedient and dutiful subject, he became one of 
the most intolerable sovereigns that ever reigned over 
a free people. 

James wrote memoirs of his own life and campaigns 
160 



JAMES THE SECOND. 


up to the Restoration ; and memoirs of the English 
affairs, chiefly naval, from the year 1660 to 1673. 

On his accession, he made a speech to the privy 
council, promising to preserve the government both of 
the Church and State, as by law established, yet two 
days after he went publicly to mass. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The Battle of Sedgemoor. —The discontent caused 
by the conduct of James in openly encouraging Popery, 
after his solemn promise to the contrary, induced the 
Duke of Monmouth to make another attempt on the 
crown. Having landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, with 
only one hundred followers, he was in a few days at the 
head of six thousand men. He published a declaration, 
stating that his sole motive for taking arms, was to 
preserve the Protestant religion, and to deliver the 
nation from the usurpation and tyranny of James, 
Duke of York. He was encountered by the king’s 
troops at a place called Sedgemoor, near Bridgewater, 
on the 5th of July, 1685, and after a desperate engage¬ 
ment totally defeated. Monmouth escaped from the 
field, and wandered for some days about the country in 
a destitute state, and at last was discovered concealed 
in a ditch, and almost exhausted with fatigue and 
hunger. He was carried to London, and immediately 
condemned and executed on Tower-hill. His followers 
were punished with dreadful severity. A number were 
barbarously put to death by military execution, under 
General Kirke, on the field of battle ; and about three 
hundred and fifty were executed by form of law by 
order of the notorious Judge Jeffreys, who-was sent 

l6l 


JAMES THE SECOND. 


down to try the prisoners, for which service he was 
made Lord Chancellor. 

Seven Bishops sent to the Tower. — James now 
openly attempted to establish Popery and arbitrary 
power. Finding the parliament an obstacle to his 
designs, he dismissed it, and never called another. 
The Popish priests appeared publicly in their habits 
in the streets ; a nuncio arrived from Rome, and James 
filled the official situations in the universities, with 
Roman Catholics. Seven of the bishops having re¬ 
monstrated against these infamous and unlawful pro¬ 
ceedings, he had them sent to the Tower and prosecuted 
for sedition. His power, however, was not sufficient 
to prevent their being acquitted. The acclamations 
caused by this event, reached the ears of the king, 
who asked what was the meaning of the noise. Some 
one answered it was nothing but the soldiers shouting 
for the delivery of the bishops. “ Call you that no¬ 
thing ?” the king exclaimed in a rage ; “ but so much 
the worse for them.” Immediately afterwards he dis¬ 
missed two of the judges whom he understood to have 
been favourable to the bishops. 

Deposition and Flight. — In these circumstances, 
the people became greatly alarmed; and immediately 
applied to William Henry of Nassau, Prince of Orange, 
who had married Mary, King James’s eldest daughter, 
and was himself the son of that king’s eldest sister. 
This prince landed at Torbay, on the 5th of November, 
1688, and was joyfully received by the whole nation. 

James made no resistance; he only attempted to 
escape from the kingdom, and left his palace in disguise. 
He was discovered at Faversham, and, after being 

grossly insulted, brought back to London. He was 

162 


WILLIAM THE THIRD. 


ordered by William to retire to Rochester, and was 
allowed, without molestation, to embark for France. 
The parliament having, by a vote passed in both 
Houses, declared that James had abdicated the throne , 
it was agreed that the Prince and Princess of Orange 
should reign jointly, but Mary had barely the title, 
the power being delegated exclusively to William. 
Thus was formed the famous period in English history, 
called “ The Revolution.” 

King James retired to St. Germains, in France, where 
he died on the 16th, of September, 1701, aged sixty- 
eight, and was buried in the monastery of the Bene¬ 
dictines, in Paris. 


XXVIII. 

CHARACTER OF WILLIAM THE THIRD. 

William the Third, was, in his person tall, thin, 

and of a delicate constitution : he was subject to an 

asthma, which occasioned a stooping in his shoulders : 

his complexion was dark,his eyes bright and sparkling; 

which illumined a face otherwise grave and repulsive. 

He was very sparing of speech ; his conversation was 

dry, and his manner displeasing, except when in battle, 

when his deportment was free, spirited, and animating. 

In courage, fortitude, and equanimity, he rivalled the 

most eminent warriors of antiquity ; and his natural 

sagacity made amends for the defects of his education, 

which had not been properly superintended. He was 

religious, temperate, and generally just and sincere ; a 

163 



WILLIAM THE THIRD. 


stranger to violent transports of passion, and miglit 
have passed for one of the best princes of the age, 
had he never ascended the throne of Great Britain. 
But the distinguishing feature of William’s character 
was ambition : and this he gratified at the expense of 
the nation that raised him to sovereign authority. 
He aspired to the honour of acting as umpire in all 
the contests of Europe : and the second object of his 
attention was the prosperity of the country to which he 
owed his birth. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

The English parliament having conferred the crown 
upon the Prince and Princess of Orange, required their 
assent to a declaration called the Bill of Rights , by 
which the power of the crown and the rights of the 
subjects were fixed. The levying of money and other 
acts of power, without consent of parliament, were 
declared unlawful; and the freedom of election, the 
right of petitioning the sovereign, with other impor¬ 
tant privileges were asserted. It was provided that 
parliament should be frequently assembled ; that ex¬ 
cessive bail (except in most extreme cases) should not 
be required, excessive fines imposed ; nor unnatural 
and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Soon after the coronation, an attempt was made by 
the opposite party, to secure Scotland for King James, 
and the two armies met at Killykrankie , in Perthshire. 
Lieutenant-general Mackay, who commanded for King 
William, obtained a complete victory; after which, 
the whole island of Great Britain submitted to the 
crown. 

104 


WILLIAM THE THIRD. 


The Battle of the Boyne. —In Ireland, the major¬ 
ity of the people, being Papists, still adhered to King 
James; who, having obtained some assistance from 
France, resolved to maintain his pretensions. He 
landed at Kinsale, at the head of a small force, and 
made his public entry into Dublin. He soon found 
himself at the head of twenty thousand men, and was 
twice reinforced by the French, who each time joined 
him with five thousand men. He took Coleraine and 
Kilmore, and laid siege to Londonderry ; but soon after 
returned to meet his parliament in Dublin, where he 
passed an act to attaint between two and three thou¬ 
sand Protestant lords, ladies, clergymen and gentlemen, 
of high treason. At length King William sent a large 
body of troops to the assistance of the Protestants; and 
the following year, arrived in person. 

On the 1st of July, 1690, he attacked James’s army 
on the banks of the river Boyne, near Dundalk, and 
gained a complete victory over the French and Irish, 
and obliged James to retire first to Dublin, and after¬ 
wards to France, where he remained till his death in 
1701. After defeating James’s followers at Athlone, 
Galway, Limerick, and other places, William’s army 
returned to England, and all Ireland was reduced to 
obedience. 

Death of Queen Mary. — This excellent princess 
was taken ill at Kensington on the 21st of December, 
1694. Her distemper proved to be the small pox ; a 
malady extremely fatal to her family, and which might 
therefore be supposed to make the greater impression 
upon her spirits ; this, joined to a weakly constitution, 
and, as some say, the ill-management of her principal 
physician, brought her to an end in the space of a 


QUEEN ANNE. 


week. She died in the thirty-third year of her age, and 
the sixth of her reign. She was exceedingly lamented 
at home and abroad, and her death was a great disad¬ 
vantage to her subjects. 

William reigned seven years and three months after 
the death of Queen Mary, and on the 21st of February, 
1702, as he was riding from Kensington to Hampton 
Court, his horse fell under him, and he himself was 
thrown upon the ground with such violence, as pro¬ 
duced a fracture in his collar-bone. His attendants 
conveyed him to the Palace of Hampton Court, where 
the fracture was reduced by Ronjat, his sergeant-sur¬ 
geon. In the evening he returned to Kensington in 
his coach, and after lying in a languishing state till 
the 8th of March, he expired in the fifty-second year 
of his age and fourteenth of his reign. He was buried 
in Westminster Abbey. 

The Bank of England was established in this reign, 
and the first public lottery drawn. 


XXIX. 

CHARACTER OF QUEEN ANNE. 

Anne Stuart, Queen of Great Britain, was in her 
person of the middling size, majestic and well pro¬ 
portioned. Her hair was of a dark brown colour, her 
complexion ruddy, her features regular, and her coun¬ 
tenance round and handsome. Her voice was clear 

and melodious, and her presence engaging. She was, 
166 



QUEEN ANNE. 


indeed, deficient in that vigour of mind by which 
princes ought to preserve their independence, and avoid 
the snares of flatterers and sycophants ; but the virtues 
of her heart were never called in question. She was 
a pattern of conjugal affection and fidelity, a tender 
mother, a warm friend, a munificent patroness, and a 
merciful queen, during whose reign no subject’s blood 
was shed for treason. She was zealously attached to 
the Protestant Church, from conviction rather than 
prepossession ; unaffectedly pious, charitable and com¬ 
passionate. In a word, she was undoubtedly one of 
the best and most unblemished sovereigns that ever sat 
upon the throne of England. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Queen Anne procured an act of parliament for 
building fifty new churches within the bills of mor¬ 
tality, with an augmentation of the livings of the poorer 
clergy. The union of the two kingdoms of England 
and Scotland took place in this reign. Since the acces¬ 
sion of James the First, these nations had been under 
one sovereign, but remained separate and independent 
of each other, in all other respects. By the Act of 
Union which took place on the 1st of May, 1706, 
England and Scotland were formed into the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain , with one parliament, but 
Scotland retained her own laws, and her own form of 
church government. 

During the reign of Queen Anne the honour of the 
British arms was carried to an amazing height, parti¬ 
cularly by the Duke of Marlborough, who was first 
appointed General of the English forces, and afterwards 


QUEEN ANNE. 


Commander-in-Chief of the allied armies against France. 
He humbled the pride of France by a number of the 
most glorious victories, particularly at the battles of 
Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet; and 
raised his military fame to the highest pitch of great¬ 
ness. The nation being at the same time at war with 
Spain, the Duke of Ormond and Sir George Rooke took 
Vigo, when eleven French men-of-war were burnt, and 
ten taken. On the 24th of July, 1704, Sir George 
Rooke took Gibraltar, after a siege of two days. The 
next year the Earl of Peterborough took the city of 
Barcelona, and several other places in Spain. 

Whigs and Tories. —It was in the reign of Queen 
Anne that the disputes between the two great parties, 
known by the names of Whigs and Tories , begun to 
have a constant influence on the measures of govern¬ 
ment ; although the parties and their names had 
existed for a considerable time. These names, at first, 
were cant terms of reproach bestowed upon each other 
by the parties which divided the kingdom in the reign 
of Charles the Second; but they gradually lost their 
offensive significations. The name of Tory came to be 
applied (by themselves as well as others) to those who 
especially desired to support the powers of the crown, 
and the establishment of the national church ; while 
the name of Whig was given to those who called for 
the extension of popular freedom, both in Church and 
State. The Whigs accused the Tories of wishing to 
exalt the power of the crown, at the expense of the 
just rights and privileges of the people; while the 
Tories affirmed that the principles of the Whigs were 
inconsistent with the preservation of the established 

government and religion of the State. 

168 


GEORGE THE FIRST. 


In 1711, the Duke of Marlborough was accused of 
having, while abroad, taken a large bribe from a Jew 
who had contracted to supply the army with bread, and 
was dismissed by the Queen from all his employments. 
In 1713, the famous treaty of Utrecht was concluded. 

The queen was seized with a lethargy in the month 
of July, 1714, which, notwithstanding all the care of 
her physicians, increased so fast, that she died on the 
1st of August following, at Kensington Palace, in the 
fiftieth year of her age, and the thirteenth of her reign. 
She was the last sovereign of the House of Stuart. 


XXX. 

CHARACTER OF GEORGE THE FIRST, 

George the First was plain and simple in his per¬ 
son and address; grave and composed in his deportment, 
though easy and familiar in his hours of relaxation. 
Before he ascended the throne of Great Britain, he had 
acquired the character of a circumspect general, a just 
and merciful prince, and a wise politician, who perfectly 
understood and steadily pursued his own interest. With 
these qualities, it can scarcely be doubted but that 
he came to England extremely well disposed to govern 
his new subjects according to the maxims of the British 
constitution, and the genius of the people : and if ever 
he seemed to deviate from these principles, we may take 
it for granted that he was misled by the venal sugges¬ 
tions of a ministry whose power and influence were 
founded on corruption. 



GEORGE THE FIRST. 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

King George the First succeeded to the crown of 
Great Britain on the death of Queen Anne. He was the 
eldest son of Ernestus Augustus, Duke, afterwards Elector 
of Hanover, or Brunswick-Lunenburg, and was descended 
by his mother from King James the First of England. 
On September the 18th, 1714, he landed, 'with the 
prince his son, at Greenwich, and on the 20th, they 
made their public entry into London, and through the 
city to St. James’s, attended by above two hundred 
coaches and six, of the nobility and gentry. The prince 
was declared Prince of Wales ; the king was crowned 
on the 20th of October, and a new parliament met on 
the 17th March, 1715. In July the king gave the 
royal assent to an act for preventing tumultuous and 
riotous assemblies, commonly called the Riot Act, which 
is in force to this day. 

A few months after George’s coronation, a rebellion 
broke out, which was headed in Scotland by the Earl of 
Mar, who set up the standard of the Pretender, Prince 
James, son of James the Second, and proclaimed him 
King of Scotland. At the same time the Earl of Der- 
wentwater and others appeared in arms in the north of 
England, and also proclaimed the Pretender. In No¬ 
vember, they were attacked by the king’s troops, com¬ 
manded by Generals Wills and Carpenter, at Preston, in 
Lancashire, when, after a smart firing from the windows, 
finding all the avenues of the town blocked up by sol¬ 
diers, they desired to capitulate ; but no other terms 
being alloAved them than submitting to the king’s mercy, 

they, on the 14th, submitted. On the same day, the 
170 


GEORGE THE FIRST. 


Duke of Argyle defeated the rebel army in Scotland, 
under the Earl of Mar, consisting of about eight thou¬ 
sand men. This battle took place at SherifF-muir, 
about four miles from Aberdeen ; and the Earl of Mar, 
retreated to Perth, after an obstinate engagement, in 
which both sides claimed the victory, though Mar, being 
frustrated in his design of crossing the river Forth, 
showed that the king’s forces had the advantage. 

After the Pretender’s friends in Britain had thus been 
defeated, he himself arrived in Scotland, attended only 
by six gentlemen. He was joined by the Earl of Mar, 
and expected the people would rise in his favour; but 
in this he was disappointed, and finding his affairs des¬ 
perate, he found means to escape to a French ship, and 
returned to France. 

The rebels were treated with great severity. The 
Earls of Derwentwater and Kenmuir, several gentlemen, 
and others of inferior rank, were executed; and above 
a thousand persons were transported to North America. 
Immediately after this rebellion, an act was passed 
which still remains in force, extending the duration of 
parliaments from three to seven years. This is called 
the Septennial Act. 

In 1726, a war broke out with Spain, and an expedi¬ 
tion, under Admiral Hosier, was sent to South America, 
to intercept the ships employed in conveying gold to 
Spain ; but it entirely failed. The Spaniards made an 
attempt to take Gibraltar, but they were unsuccessful, 
and a peace was soon afterwards concluded. 

In 1727, the King set out on a visit to his Hanoverian 
dominions; but was taken ill on the road, and died in 
his carriage near Osnaburgh, on the 11th of June, in the 

sixty-eighth year of his age, and the thirteenth of his 

in 


GEORGE THE SECOND. 


reign. His body was conveyed to Hanover, and interred 
among his ancestors. 


XXXI. 


CHARACTER OF GEORGE THE SECOND. 

George the Second came to the throne at the age of 
forty-four. He was a prince of rather low stature, but 
remarkably well shaped and erect, with prominent eyes, 
and fair complexion. In his disposition he is said to 
have been hasty, prone to anger, especially in his youth, 
yet soon appeased ; otherwise, moderate and humane ; 
in his way of living, temperate. He was fond of mili¬ 
tary pomp and parade, and personally brave. He loved 
war as a soldier : studied it as a science; and corre¬ 
sponded on the subject with some of the greatest military 
characters in Germany. The circumstances that chiefly 
marked his public character were a predilection for his 
native country, and a close attention to the political 
interests of the Germanic body. 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

Sir Robert Walpole, who in the former reign had 
been a principal leader of the Whig party, became the 
king’s prime minister. The two great parties in the 
State now changed their names from Whig and Tory, 
and were called the Court and Country parties. The 
Court party supported the measures of Walpole’s admi¬ 
nistration ; the Country party was in the opposition. 

172 



GEORGE THE SECOND. 


The most frequent subjects of dispute between them, 
during this reign, were the increase of the national debt, 
and the number of troops that were kept in pay. 

On the 27th of April, 1736, Frederick Prince of 
Wales was married to the Princess of Saxe Gotha. This 
prince was the father of King George the Third, and 
died in the life-time of his own father, in 1751. 

The rebellion in Scotland.— In 1745, Charles Ed¬ 
ward Stuart, the son of the old Pretender, resolved to 
make an effort to gain the British crown. Being fur¬ 
nished with money, and still larger promises from France, 
he embarked for Scotland on board a small frigate, 
accompanied by the Marquis of Tullibardine and some 
other desperate adventurers. For the conquest of the 
whole British empire, he brought with him seven officers 
and arms for two thousand men. He was joined by 
some of the Highland chiefs with their vassals, when he 
found himself at the head of fifteen hundred men; and 
with these he advanced to Edinburgh, which he entered 
without opposition. Sir John Cope, who commanded 
the King’s forces, advanced to Edinburgh, and encamped 
at Preston Pans, a few miles from the city. He was 
attacked by the Highlanders, and defeated with the loss 
of five hundred men ; while the rebels lost only eighty 
men. Had the Pretender profited by the terror and 
confusion produced by this victory, it might have had 
fatal consequences ; but he trifled away his time in 
Edinburgh, and gave the government time and oppor¬ 
tunity to oppose him effectually. 

Charles now marched into England, and, after besieg¬ 
ing and taking Carlisle, he advanced to Manchester, 
where he took up his head-quarters, and was joined by 

about two hundred English. From thence he proceeded 

173 


GEORGE THE SECOND. 


to Derby ; but being disappointed in their expectations 
of succour from France, and fearful of being surrounded 
by the royal forces, the Highland chiefs and their clans, 
contrary to the wishes of the Pretender himself, resolved 
to return to Scotland. They accordingly retreated, leav¬ 
ing a garrison of four hundred men in Carlisle, which 
surrendered a few days afterwards to the King’s troops. 

The Duke of Cumberland, the King’s son, who had 
arrived from Flanders, now put himself at the head of 
the army at Edinburgh, amounting to fourteen thousand 
men. With these he followed the rebels northward, 
and came up with them at Culloden, an extensive moor, 
in the neighbourhood of Inverness. Here Charles drew 
up his army, consisting of not six thousand men, to wait 
the attack of the Duke of Cumberland. The battle 
began on the 16th of April, about one o’clock in the 
afternoon : in less than thirty minutes the Scots were 
totally routed, and the field was covered with their dead 
bodies to the number of three thousand. The duke, 
immediately after the battle, ordered thirty-six deserters 
to be executed. 

The conquerors made a cruel use of their victory. 
Quarter was refused, and many were slain who were 
mere spectators of the combat. Charles Edward escaped 
from the field, with a few followers, and had a course of 
adventures very similar to those of Charles the Second, 
after the battle of Worcester. He wandered for five 
months among the Highlands, and was frequently on 
the point of being taken ; but, though a reward of thirty 
thousand pounds was offered for his head by the govern¬ 
ment, and though he trusted himself to more than fifty 
persons, not one was prevailed upon by so great a temp¬ 
tation to betray him. He at last got safe on board a 

174 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


French privateer with a few faithful followers who had 
shared his misfortunes, and escaped to France. 

Lords Balmerino, Kilmarnock, and Lovat, and Mr. 
Radclifie (brother to the Earl of Derwentwater, who was 
beheaded in 1715) were beheaded. Many officers and 
gentlemen were hanged at Kennington Common, Car¬ 
lisle, and York, and a considerable number of other 
persons were transported to North America. 

A considerable portion of this monarch’s reign was 
taken up by military and naval contests with France 
and Spain ; in acquiring and securing dominion in the 
East Indies and North and South America; and pro¬ 
tecting the king’s Hanoverian dominions, and the States 
of Germany. In these contests, the British arms were 
universally successful. The king and his son, the Duke 
of Cumberland appeared in most of the military engage¬ 
ments on the continent, and were everywhere victori¬ 
ous. George the Second is the last instance of a King of 
England appearing personally in the field of battle. 

On the 25th of October, 1760, his Britannic Ma¬ 
jesty, George the Second, died suddenly, in the seventy- 
seventh year of his age, and the thirty-fourth of his 
reign. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. 


XXXII. 

CHARACTER OF GEORGE THE THIRD. 

In speaking of the character of this monarch, a re¬ 
spectable historian has observed, that “ In moderation, 

175 



GEORGE THE THIRD. 


judgment, and vigour of intellect, he at least equalled 
the first George; while in every other quality of the 
heart and of the understanding, he exceeded that mon¬ 
arch. In fact, it may be said that a more virtuous, 
paternal, and pious king never sat upon the British 
throne.” And, that, “ Arduous as were his trials; 
long and momentous beyond former example as was the 
period of his reign ; no difficulty, no consideration was 
ever able to shake his firmness. In him was discovered 
no cruelty of ambition, no violent abuse of power, no 
profligacy of character, no forgetfulness of himself, no 
neglect of his subjects’ interests ; on the contrary he 
exhibited the tenderest solicitude for the happiness of 
his people, a deep and becoming regard for his own 
elevated station, and the exercise of every quality which 
could adorn the man, and dignify the prince.” 

Another writer observes, that, “ Though in the dis¬ 
charge of his arduous duties, during times of great diffi¬ 
culty and danger, his views may not have been uni¬ 
formly sound, yet it is universally admitted they were 
sincerely and earnestly directed to the good of his 
kingdom.” 


HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

George the Third was twenty-two years old when he 

succeeded his grandfather. Mr. Pitt, the chief minister 

in the late reign, continued for a short time in office, and 

was afterwards created Earl of Chatham, and succeeded 

in the administration of affairs by the Earl of Bute. 

The Riots in St. George’s Fields. — Mr. Wilkes, 

who had long resided abroad, returned in 1768, and 

offered himself as a candidate to represent the City of 
176 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


London, though a sentence of outlawry against him had 
never been repealed. He lost his election, but imme¬ 
diately stood for Middlesex, where he was chosen by a 
great majority. He soon after surrendered himself, and 
was committed to the King’s Bench prison ; in conse¬ 
quence of which, some very alarming riots took place 
in St. George’s Fields : the military were called out, 
and some persons were shot. 

Mr. Wilkes’s imprisonment expired in 1771, when 
he was chosen one of the sheriffs for London and Mid¬ 
dlesex, made an alderman, had his debts paid, amount¬ 
ing to twenty or thirty thousand pounds, was elected 
lord mayor, and afterwards chamberlain of London. 

The American War. —The ministry, in order to re¬ 
lieve the people of Great Britain of a part of the bur¬ 
den of the taxes, resolved to tax the North American 
colonies ; and, in 1765, an Act was passed imposing 
stamp-duties upon them. This act was received in 
America with the greatest indignation. The colonists 
contended that, by the British constitution, the subjects 
cannot be taxed unless by the consent of their represen¬ 
tatives in parliament, and that they, not being repre¬ 
sented, could not be taxed. So great was the ferment, 
it was found necessary to repeal the act; but at the 
same time another act was passed, declaring the right 
of parliament not only to tax the colonies, but to make 
laws binding on them in every case whatever. 

In 1767, an Act was passed, laying a tax on tea and 
some other articles imported into the American colonies; 
but in 1770, when Lord North came into power, this 
act was repealed with respect to all articles except 
tea. Lord North imagined that a tax of small amount 

would not be objected to; but he did not sufficiently 

177 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


consider that it was the principle of taxation which 
the Americans resisted. 

A general spirit of resistance now spread over the 
colonies in America. The government sent troops to 
enforce the execution of their claims. The colonists 
provided arms and military stores in different places for 
defence against the British troops ; and an attempt to 
seize a quantity of these, produced a skirmish at Lex¬ 
ington, near Boston, on the 19th of April, 1775, in 
which a number, both of the soldiers and colonists were 
killed. Both parties now proceeded to open war. 
Thirteen of the colonies formed themselves into a Union, 
to be conducted by the delegates sent to the congress. 
George Washington, a Virginian gentleman, was placed 
at the head of the American army. On the other hand 
large bodies of troops under General Howe and Lord 
Cornwallis, were sent from England. At first, the 
British troops appeared to have the advantage; but 
General Washington soon found means to strengthen 
his army, and in 1777, a British army, under General 
Burgoyne, were surrounded by the American forces, 
and obliged to lay down their arms. 

The success of the Americans induced France to join 
them against Great Britain. The English people now 
began to be discouraged by the ill-success of the war, 
and a motion was made in the House of Lords, that the 
troops should be withdrawn from America. This was 
opposed by the venerable Earl of Chatham, who was 
lifted from a sick-bed and carried to the house for that 
purpose. He had opposed the measures which led to 
the war ; but he now protested against yielding to the 
dread of France. While engaged in this debate, he 
suddenly sank down in a fit, and was carried apparently 

178 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


lifeless out of the house. This striking scene happened 
on the 2nd of April, 1778, and this great statesman 
expired a short time afterwards. 

The war with America was carried on without any 
remarkable event till the year 1781 ; but in October of 
that year, Lord Cornwallis was under the necessity of 
surrendering himself and his army to General Washing¬ 
ton. From that time, all expectation of subduing 
America was at an end. They shortly afterwards de¬ 
clared their independence, by forming a government of 
their own, of which Washington was elected president. 

Lord George Gordon’s Riots. —The year 1780 was 
remarkable for one of the most dreadful riots that ever 
happened in the City and suburbs of London. The 
origin of these disgraceful ebullitions of popular feeling 
may be traced to the passing of an Act of Parliament 
about two years previously, for “relieving his Majesty’s 
subjects preferring the Romish religion from certain 
penalties and disabilities imposed upon them in the 
eleventh and twelfth years of the reign of William III.” 
A Protestant association was formed, with Lord George 
Gordon at their head, who, alarming themselves with 
apprehensions of Popery, determined to excite the legis¬ 
lature to repeal the act so recently passed. A petition, 
signed by above a hundred thousand persons, was pre¬ 
sented with due decorum to the House of Commons on 
the 2nd of June ; but in the course of the day several 
lords and commoners were insulted by the mob. The 
Sardinian and other Romish chapels were pulled down ; 
and such other outrages were committed, that it was 
found expedient to draw out the military, and to send 
five of the rioters to Newgate. Everything remained 
quiet on the king’s birthday, which was kept on Satur- 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


day, instead of Sunday, on which latter day another 
Popish chapel was demolished. On Monday, the fifth, 
a Popish school, three priests’ houses, a library, and all 
Sir George Saville’s furniture, were destroyed. On 
Tuesday the mob were so riotous in front of both Houses 
of Parliament that they obliged them to adjourn ; and 
in the evening, when the keeper of Newgate refused to 
deliver up the rioters, they set fire to his house and the 
prison, and liberated about three hundred prisoners, 
many of whom joined them. They then proceeded to 
the Bank of England, which they would have plundered 
had it not been protected by the military and the City 
association. In the evening Lord Mansfield, Sir John 
Fielding, and several private persons had their houses 
burnt or pulled down. The King’s Bench, Bridewell, 
and Fleet prisons were destroyed. Fires were seen 
blazing in every part of the metropolis, and the lawless 
mob were exacting contributions from the citizens, 
while the magistrates, and even the ministry, viewed 
these scenes of desolation with an inactivity that was 
astonishing. At length, however, their spirit seemed 
roused : troops were called into London from all quar¬ 
ters, and stationed in every part of the town. This 
step effectually checked the progress of the rioters ; a 
great number of them were shot by the military, and 
others taken, tried, and executed. Lord George Gordon, 
who had been the chief instigator and leader in these 
outrageous proceedings was tried for high treason, but 
acquitted. 

The King and Queen of France beheaded.—T he 
year 1793 commenced with one of those awfully im¬ 
pressive events which are not often found in the annals 

of civilized nations —the putting a sovereign to death 
180 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


upon the scaffold. Louis the Sixteenth, of France, 
after a trial which terminated in sentencing him to 
lose his life, was guillotined on the 21st of January. 

Again, in October, the public feelings were most 
sensibly affected by the trial of the Queen of France, 
on the 14th, and her execution on the 16th of that 
month. 

Marriage of the Prince of Wales. —The 8th of 
April, 1795, was marked by the marriage of his royal 
highness George, Prince of Wales, with her serene high¬ 
ness, the Princess Caroline, daughter of the Duke of 
Brunswick. On the 7th of January, 1796, was born her 
royal highness the Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales. 

The Union with Ireland.— The year 1800 is remark¬ 
able for the union between Great Britain and Ireland, 
of a similar nature to the union of England with Scot¬ 
land. The three countries were formed into one king¬ 
dom, and styled, “ The United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Irelandand Ireland was represented in 
parliament by twenty-eight peers, and one hundred 
commoners. The union commenced on the 1st of 
January, 1801. 

In the beginning of the year, 1801, Mr. Pitt, (son of 
the late Earl of Chatham), who had been for some time 
prime minister, resigned his situation, and was suc¬ 
ceeded by Mr. Addington, afterwards Viscount Sid- 
mouth. A treaty of peace between England and 
France was signed at Amiens, on the 25th of March, 
1802. This event gave great joy throughout the na¬ 
tion ; but the peace did not long continue, and Mr. Ad¬ 
dington retired from office in 1804, and Mr. Pitt re¬ 
sumed his former station ; but this great statesman died 
on the 23d of January, 1806. 


181 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


Battle op Trafalgar.— Buonaparte having become 
Emperor of France, induced Spain to enter into an 
alliance with him, and to declare war against Great 
Britain; and the two nations each fitted out a fleet to 
attack us by sea. This combined fleet for some time 
eluded the vigilance of the British cruisers. At length, 
our immortal Nelson, who had been anxiously seeking 
the enemy received the gratifying intelligence that they 
had put to sea; and on the 21st of October, 1805, they 
appeared in the vicinity of Cape Trafalgar, presenting a 
line of thirty-three ships, of which eighteen were French 
and fifteen Spanish. The British hero had but twenty- 
seven vessels under his command, yet he rushed with 
noble impetuosity to the conflict; caused his own ship 
to be placed alongside of his old acquaintance, the San- 
tissima Trinidada, and engaged the combined forces at 
the muzzles of their guns. The conflict was severe and 
obstinate ; but about three o’clock p.m., many of the 
enemy’s ships having struck, their line gave way, and 
victory soon decided in favour of our gallant country¬ 
men. Nineteen ships of the line (of which two were 
first-rates) were taken, and three flag-officers. 

This brilliant victory, however, was dearly purchased, 
and the glories of the day were sadly overcast by the 
death of the gallant Lord Nelson, who received a mus¬ 
ket ball in his left breast, about the middle of the 
action, and soon afterwards expired. His remains were 
interred in St. Paul’s cathedral, January 9th, 1806. 

Sir Francis Burdett.— The year 1810 was rendered 
memorable by the committal of Sir Francis Burdett to 
the Tower, by a warrant from the Speaker of the House 
of Commons, for a breach of privilege. The spirited 

baronet resisted the execution of the warrant, denying 

182 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


the right of the House of Commons to imprison him ; 
but at length force was employed, and on the 9th of 
April, he was conveyed to the Tower in a glass coach. 
London was in a state of riotous ferment for several 
days ; the military were called out, and in their pro¬ 
gress to or from the Tower, an unoffending person was 
killed by a musket shot, whilst standing in the shop 
of a tradesman in Fenchurch-street. Sir Francis was 
liberated on the 12th of the following June. 

In May, 1812, Mr. Perceval the prime minister, as 
he was entering the lobby of the House of Commons, 
was shot by a person of the name of Bellingham, from 
some motive of private revenge. The murderer was 
brought to trial, condemned and executed. Mr. Per¬ 
ceval was succeeded as prime minister by the Earl of 
Liverpool. 

Battle of Waterloo. —In the beginning of 1815, 
Buonaparte, who, after his late abdication, had been 
permitted, under restraint, to retire to the Island of 
Elba, suddenly escaped from that place, and landed in 
France, where he was received with acclamations by 
the army. He proceeded without opposition to Paris, 
from which the King, Louis the Eighteenth, had fled, 
and immediately resumed the government. The Allied 
Powers prepared to invade France; and Buonaparte 
proceeded with an army of a hundred and fifty 
thousand men, to meet them in the Netherlands, where 
the British and Prussian armies already were; the 
British under the command of the Duke of Wellington, 
whose glorious victories over Buonaparte and the 
French armies, on the continent of Europe, had re¬ 
sounded throughout the world, and the Prussians under 
Marshals Bulow and Blucher. After several encoun- 

183 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


ters on the 16th and 17th, a general battle took place 
on the 18th of June, near the village of Waterloo, in 
which, after a desperate conflict, which lasted the 
whole day, the French army was completely defeated, 
and Buonaparte with difficulty saved himself by flight. 
He returned to Paris, but finding his situation hopeless 
he endeavoured to escape to America. Finding him¬ 
self unable to avoid an English ship of war, he gave 
himself up to the English captain, and was by the Allies 
sent to the Island of St. Helena, in the middle of the 
Atlantic ocean, where he remained till his death, on 
the 5th of May, 1821. King Louis returned to Paris, 
and a new treaty of peace was concluded. 

Death of the Princess Charlotte.— In 1816, 
the Princess Charlotte of Wales, the heiress apparent 
to the crown of Great Britain, was married to the 
Prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg. This union, in all 
respects a most happy one, was terminated by the death 
of the princess. She expired on the 6th of November, 
1817 ; an event which was deeply lamented through¬ 
out the kingdom. Indeed the whole British nation 
mourned over this event, as one connected with domes¬ 
tic feelings. All public avocations, whether of business 
or pleasure, were suspended. In the metropolis the 
shutters of the principal shops were closed for the whole 
interval between the decease of the princess and her 
interment. Every person was intent on displaying the 
cause of public sorrow as that of his own bosom. The 
distress and consternation of the royal family was 
indeed extreme. Intelligence of the afflictive event 
reached the Prince Regent, her father, whilst he was 
engaged in a festive party at Sudbourn Hall, in Suf¬ 
folk ; and we may easily suppose that he received the 

184 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 


melancholy tidings with pungent distress. The queen 
was at Bath when the tidings arrived. All the gaieties 
connected with her visit to that city, were immediately 
suspended; and her majesty, on receiving the awful 
intelligence, retired to solitude and reflection. The 
Princess was interred in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. 

The day of the funeral was one of general mourning 
throughout the empire. It was, indeed, as it has been 
aptly described, “ A day of voluntary humiliation and 
prayer, of cessation from business, and of sad and silent 
reflection on the instability of human greatness, and of 
all sublunary hopes.” 

“ Now sear’d within the sad funereal urn. 

With sable blazonry they bear the corse 
Of lov’d Augusta to the mould'ring tomb ; 

The bell (dire harbinger of Albion’s loss). 

Responsive thrills through every Briton’s heart. 

And tells in solemn strains our princess dead. 

Britannia weeps, and o’er the hallow’d spot 
In pensive anguish heaves the bitter sigh !” 

Pier royal highness was in the 22nd year of her age. 
Her brief and innocent life made a deep impression upon 
the people over whom she appeared once destined to 
preside ; and exhibited, in a striking point of view, the 
loveliness of moral excellence, and the proof that per¬ 
sonal happiness and public esteem are most readily to 
be attained by the exercise of domestic virtues. 

The Queen died on the 17 th of November, 1818, at 
Kew Palace, and was buried in St. George’s Chapel, 
Windsor. 

The year 1820 had scarcely commenced when the 
British nation was once more involved in mourning, by 
the death of an amiable prince, and an aged and be- 

185 


GEORGE THE FOURTH. 


These infatuated men were soon brought to trial on 
a charge of high treason, when Thistlewood and four 
others were sentenced to death, and were hung and be¬ 
headed in front of Newgate. 

Queen Caroline. —In consequence of various reports 
relative to the conduct of her majesty whilst Princess 
of Wales, and residing in Italy, a commission was sent 
out to Milan to collect evidence against her ; and on 
the accession of her illustrious consort to the throne of 
England, her name was erased from the Church liturgy, 
and she was informed that if she presumed to return to 
this country, judicial proceedings would be immediately 
instituted against her, but that in the event of her 
remaining on the continent, fifty thousand pounds per 
annum would be allowed for her support. Notwith¬ 
standing these threats and promises, however, she land¬ 
ed at Dover, on the 5th of June, 1820, and a few days 
after arrived in London. A “ Bill of Pains and Penal¬ 
ties” against her, was immediately brought into the 
House of Lords, but it was so feebly supported, and 
her defence was so clear, so convincing of her inno¬ 
cence, and so ably conducted by Mr. Brougham and 
Mr. Denman, her counsel, that ministers determined 
to proceed no further in the matter. The feelings of 
the nation were so strongly in her favour, that the 
withdrawal of these proceedings caused the most lively 
joy to be exhibited in all parts of the kingdom. 

A bill shortly after passed both Houses by which an an¬ 
nuity of fifty thousand pounds per annum was settled on 
her majesty ; but her majesty died on the 7th of August, 
1821, in the fifty-third year of her age ; and in compli¬ 
ance with her own request, her remains were conveyed 
to Brunswick, and deposited in the tomb of her ancestors. 

188 


GEORGE THE FOURTH. 


The coronation of King George the Fourth was 
solemnized on the 19th of July, 1821, with the utmost 
splendour and magnificence in Westminster Abbey. 
Nothing could exceed the grandeur of the spectacle, 
both in the Abbey and Westminster Hall, both of which 
were permitted to remain open for inspection for a con¬ 
siderable time afterwards. 

On the 31st of July, his Majesty paid a visit to 
Ireland ; and upon his return set sail from Ramsgate 
on the 24th of September, on a visit to Hanover. 

In 1822 Mr. Peel became secretary of state in the 
place of Lord Sidmouth, who resigned. In the same 
year the Marquis of Londonderry terminated his life by 
his own hand, in a fit of derangement produced by over¬ 
fatigue and exertion of mind. 

The year 182o was a period of great commercial 
distress. Commerce had for some time been rapidly 
reviving, and a great spirit of speculation arose. The 
Spanish colonies in South America, having declared 
their independence, had obtained immense loans from 
the merchants and possessors of money in England. 
The sums thus lent were advanced under a mistaken 
belief of the wealth and tranquillity of these new states ; 
but it turned out otherwise; they were unable even to 
pay the interest of these loans, and an immense amount 
of British wealth was thus lost. 

At the same time innumerable projects were set on 
foot for gaining money at home, and companies were 
formed, into which the public rushed with the utmost 
eagerness. These companies embraced every branch of 
trade, from the most extensive manufactures down to 
the selling of milk and the washing of clothes, in Lon¬ 
don. This was attended with the most disastrous con- 

189 


WILLIAM THE FOURTH. 


sequences. Almost every one of these projects was 
found to be visionary and ruinous; and it has been 
computed that above forty millions of the wealth of 
Britain were, in the course of this year, thrown away 
in those different schemes. 

The year 1829 is remarkable for the passing of the 
Catholic Emancipation Act, a measure which had been 
for many years keenly agitated. It was introduced to 
the House of Lords by the Duke of Wellington, then 
prime minister, and to the House of Commons by Mr. 
Peel, secretary of state, both of whom had on all former 
occasions steadily opposed it. It received the royal 
assent on the 13th of April, 1829. The effect of this 
measure was the admission of Romanists to the enjoy¬ 
ment of nearly the same political rights as Protestants. 
This was the last great event of the reign of King 
George the Fourth. 

The King had been rapidly declining in health from 
the beginning of the year 1830, and, after a painful and 
lingering disease, he expired at Windsor Castle on the 
26th of June, in that year, in the sixty-eighth year of 
his age, and eleventh of his reign. 


XXXIY. 

CHARACTER OF WILLIAM THE FOURTH. 

William the Fourth was deservedly beloved and ad¬ 
mired by the British nation. In his youth he had 

served long and actively in the navy, and had acquired 
190 



* 


WILLIAM THE FOURTH. 


the plain, straightforward manners of the British sailor. 
With these he united much integrity of principle, and a 
kind and benevolent heart. His habits of life, and 
those of his amiable Queen, were simple, domestic, and 
economical; but their economy in their personal expen¬ 
diture was accompanied by a course of truly royal 
beneficence and charity. In the business duties of his 
high station he was sedulous and active, and is said 
even to have exceeded his father in those habits of regu¬ 
larity and dispatch for which that monarch was dis¬ 
tinguished. Without being possessed of shining parts 
or great acquirements, he was endowed with much good 
sense, and actuated by the purest motives in the dis¬ 
charge of his duty. He will long be remembered by 
the endearing title of the “ Sailor King.” 

HISTORICAL EVENTS. 

On the death of King George the Fourth, the succes¬ 
sion to the crown devolved upon William Henry, Duke 
of Clarence, third son of George the Third, and eldest 
surviving brother of the late King. On the 28th of 
June, 1830, he was proclaimed by the title of William 
the Fourth ; and his coronation, with that of his royal 
consort, Queen Adelaide, took place in September the 
following year. 

Soon after the accession of William the Fourth, the 
Duke of Wellington and his colleagues, ministers of 
the late King, retired from office ; and a Whig adminis¬ 
tration was formed, at the head of which was the late 
Earl Grey. 

The Reform Bill. —On the 1st of March, 1831, 

Lord John Russell brought into the Flouse of Commons 

191 


WILLIAM TI1E FOURTH. 


a bill to amend the representation of the people in par¬ 
liament. This was the celebrated u Reform Bill,” the 
objects of which amounted substantially to this: a 
number of the smallest boroughs were disfranchised, or, 
in other words, deprived of the right of electing repre¬ 
sentatives to sit and vote in the House of Commons, 
and others, which had formerly sent two members, were 
restricted to one ; while, on the contrary, this right was 
conferred upon many larger towns which had not for¬ 
merly possessed it, and the number of county members 
was considerably increased. A new electoral qualifi¬ 
cation was introduced in the boroughs ; the power of 
voting for members of parliament being conferred on 
the occupiers of houses within the borough, of ten 
pounds yearly rent and upwards. In the counties the 
old qualification of property of forty shillings annual 
value was continued, with the addition (which was made 
in the progress of the measure) of the occupation, as 
tenant, of land of the yearly rent of fifty pounds and 
upwards. These are the general features of the Re¬ 
form Bill as it ultimately passed. It encountered, how¬ 
ever, such long and determined opposition that the king 
at length dissolved the parliament. When the new 
parliament met, it was again brought in, and passed 
the House of Commons in September 1831, but was 
rejected by the House of Lords on the second reading. 

A second bill, similar to the former, was again 
brought into the House of Commons and again passed ; 
but the resistance in the Upper House was so powerful 
that the ministers, finding themselves unable to carry it 
through that House, tendered their resignations to the 
king. The situation of prime minister was offered to 

Sir Robert Peel, but he declined to accept it. In the 

192 


WILLIAM THE FOURTH. 


meantime the country exhibited signs of great agita¬ 
tion, one remarkable indication of which was a run (as 
it was termed) upon the Bank of England, from which, 
in the course of two or three days, money was drawn to 
the amount of above a million sterling. At length, 
under these alarming circumstances, the ministers were 
prevailed upon to resume their places, and those peers 
who had hitherto resisted the Bill, withdrew their op¬ 
position. It then passed the House of Lords without 
further impediment, and on the 7th of June, 1832, 
received the royal assent, and became the law of the 
land. 

Acts of Parliament were also passed for the total 
abolition of negro slavery in all the British dominions 
abroad ; a measure that was hailed with the greatest 
satisfaction by all classes of society, and for the govern¬ 
ment of British India. These were followed by an act 
for the reform of the municipal corporations in England 
and Scotland ; and another, which affected an entire 
change in the administration of the English poor laws. 

In the beginning of 1837, the king’s health began to 
decline, and a general debility was followed by dropsy. 
He lingered for several months, enduring his sufferings 
with great firmness and Christian resignation ; and at 
length expired on the morning of the 20th of June, 1837. 
He was interred in the Chapel Boyal Windsor. 


193 


QUEEN VICTORIA. 


XXXV. 

QUEEN VICTORIA. 

This amiable and illustrious princess is descended 
from a race of kings the most ancient of any in Europe. 
Her Majesty was the only child of Edward, Duke ot 
Kent, (fourth son of King George the Third,) and the 
Princess of Saxe Cobourg Gotha. She was born at Ken¬ 
sington Palace, on the 24th of May, 1819, and ascended 
the throne of Great Britain on the 20th of June, 1837. 

Her Majesty’s coronation took place on the 28th of 
June, 1838 ; and her marriage with His Royal High¬ 
ness Prince Albert, on the 10th of February, 1840. 

May they continue to enjoy many years of uninter¬ 
rupted happiness and felicity ; and may their reign 
prove prosperous and glorious to the great nation over 
which it has pleased Providence to place them. 


THE ROYAL FAMILY. 


Queen Victoria 
Prince Albert . 

Princess Royal 
Prince of Wales 
Princess Alice Maud Mary 
Duke of York . 

Princess Helena . 
Princess Louise 


. born May 24, 1819 

. August 26, 1819 

. November 21, 1840 

. November 9, 1841 

April 25, 1843 

. August 6, 1844 

May 25, 1846 

. March 18, 1848 


194 



iicgal (Sobctnmmt of tfje Hhtgiwm, 
parliament, antr Courts of Justice. 

-♦- 

THE SOVEREIGN. 

The Sovereign, in his or her legislative and executive 
capacity, possesses great power. All the ministers of 
state, the judges, the dignitaries of the church, and the 
officers of the army and navy, are appointed by him ; 
and through them he enforces the execution of the laws. 
He is “ the fountain of honour and the source of mercy.” 
He only can raise to the peerage, and he alone can par¬ 
don a delinquent. Yet he cannot assign any pension to 
support the dignity he has conferred, without the assent 
of the House of Commons. The Sovereign alone can 
convoke, prorogue, or dissolve the parliament, proclaim 
war, and raise an army or navy; but, without the assent 
of the House of Commons, he cannot raise a single shil¬ 
ling to defray the expenditure of such proceedings. This 
check is provided by the constitution,against monarchical 
ambition and extravagance. Next to the solemnity of 
a coronation, the principal display of the magnificence 
of the Court takes place at the Sovereign’s drawing¬ 
rooms and levees, due notice of the holding of which is 
always given in the London Gazette, the only newspaper 
published by authority of the Government. On those 
occasions, the respects of the nobility, persons holding 
official situations, distinguished members of the bar or 
the pulpit, and officers of the army and navy, are prof- 
ferred to the monarch. 


195 



PARLIAMENT. 


England, as represented by knights, citizens, and bur¬ 
gesses, were not specifically named until the latter years 
of Henry III.’s reign, when Simon de Montford, Earl of 
Leicester, caused them to be summoned for the purpose 
of employing their influence against the arbitrary domi¬ 
nation of the crown. In the 4th of Edward III. (cap. 
14) it was enacted that “ a parliament should be holden 
every year twice, and more often if need beand this 
continued to be the statute law, although frequently 
violated by our sovereigns, until after the restoration of 
Charles II., when an act was passed for “ the assembling 
of and holding parliaments once in three years at least,” 
which act was confirmed by William and Mary, soon 
after the Revolution of 1688. In the first year of George 
I., the then existing parliament, under the influence of 
the crown, enacted that they should sit for seven years. 
Many attempts have since been made to restore triennial 
parliaments, but without success; and our parliaments 
now sit for any period not exceeding a septennial dura¬ 
tion. In the House of Commons the members sit pro¬ 
miscuously ; but we occasionally hear of the opposition 
and of the ministerial benches, from the leading orators 
of each party sitting near to each other, and on different 
sides of the house. When a member speaks, he addresses 
the Speaker only, and is not allowed to speak a second 
time during the debate, unless in reply (if he W'as the 
mover of the question), or in answer to personal reflec¬ 
tions, or in a committee of the whole house, into which 
the commons frequently form themselves for greater 
freedom. Forty members are requisite to form a house, 
nor can any business be commenced until that number 
be present. The usual time of taking the chair is four 
o’clock, p.m. The Speaker is elected from the body of 

198 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


the members on the first day of the meeting of a new 
parliament. In voting, the words used are “ yea ” and 
“nay.” In divisions, one party always quits the house, 
the number of each being counted by two tellers of the 
opposite side j but to this there is one exception, viz. in 
committees of the whole house, when they divide by the 
“ yeas” taking the right, and the “nays” the left of the 
chair. In general divisions, all the doors leading to the 
house and its lobby are locked until the numbers are 
ascertained. The vast powers of this important branch 
of the legislature, in making and annulling the laws, 
raising supplies, levying taxes, inquiring into and re¬ 
dressing grievances, &c., are of too lengthy a character 
to be detailed in this work. 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 

Court of Chancery.— This is the highest court of 
judicature in the kingdom, next to the high court of 
parliament, and is of very ancient institution. The 
jurisdiction of this court is of two kinds; ordinary and 
extraordinary. The ordinary jurisdiction is that by 
which the Lord Chancellor, in his proceedings and judg¬ 
ments, is bound to observe the order and method of the 
common law : and the extraordinary is that which the 
court exercises in cases of equity. 

In the early annals of our jurisprudence, the adminis¬ 
tration of justice by the ordinary courts appears to have 
been incomplete. To remedy this defect, the courts of 
equity were established; assuming the powers of enforc¬ 
ing the principles upon which the ordinary courts de¬ 
cide, when the power of those courts, or their modes of 

proceeding, are considered insufficient for that purpose; 

199 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


of preventing those principles, as literally enforced by 
the ordinary courts from producing decisions contrary to 
their spirit, and becoming instruments of actual injus¬ 
tice in particular cases ; and of deciding on principles 
of universal justice, where judicial interference is neces¬ 
sary to prevent a wrong in matters in which the law 
is imperfect. The courts of equity also administer to the 
ends of justice, by removing impediments to the fair 
decision of a question in other courts ; by providing for 
the safety of property in dispute, pending a litigation ; 
by restraining the assertion of doubtful rights ; by pre¬ 
venting injury to a third person from the doubtful title 
of others; by preventing an unnecessary multiplicity of 
suits; by compelling, without pronouncing any judg¬ 
ment on the subject, a discovery which may enable other 
courts to give their judgment; and by preserving testi¬ 
mony, when in danger of being lost, before the matter 
to which it relates can be made the subject of judicial 
investigation. 

As it is the object of this court to administer direct 
justice in opposition to technical difficulties, it is neces¬ 
sary, in order to maintain a suit in chancery, to allege 
that the plaintiff, independent of any fault of his own, 
is debarred from obtaining relief by proceedings in the 
common law courts. All fraudulent transactions not 
cognisable in the courts of common law may be litigated 
in this court. 

The Lord Chancellor is the only one of the judges of 
the land who is removable at the pleasure of the Sove¬ 
reign ; and hence, being politically identified with the 
ministry, there is usually a new Lord Chancellor with 
every change of the government. The mode of his 

creation consists of the simple delivery of the great seal 
200 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


of the kingdom into his custody. He takes precedence 
of every temporal peer, and is the Speaker of the House 
of Lords. In term time the Lord Chancellor sits in his 
court at Westminster Hall, hut during the vacations he 
sits in Lincoln’s Inn Hall, Chancery-lane. 

The Master of the Rolls presides in his court at 
Westminster Hall, and in the court adjoining the Rolls 
Chapel, Chancery-lane ; but all his decisions may be 
appealed from to the Lord Chancellor. The more pecu¬ 
liar office of the Master of the Rolls is to take charge 
of the rolls or records of the pleadings, decisions, and 
acts of the Chancery courts, which are preserved as pre¬ 
cedents whereby to decide in future cases. 

There are also the courts of the Vice-Chancellor of 
England, and of two additional Vice-Chancellors, appoint¬ 
ed especially to assist the Lord Chancellor in his judi¬ 
cial duties; but from any of their decisions an appeal 
lies to the high court of chancery. 

Court of King’s, or Queen’s Bench. —This is the 
supreme court of common law in the kingdom, and it 
has cognisance of causes of almost every kind, civil and 
criminal. The court of King’s Bench is so called be¬ 
cause the king used formerly to sit here in person. 
This court consists of a Lord Chief Justice and four 
puisne judges. Its jurisdiction is so paramount, that it 
keeps all inferior jurisdictions within the bounds of 
their authority, and may either remove their proceed¬ 
ings to be determined here, or prohibit their progress 
below. To state its powers more particularly, this 
court is termed the Custos morum of the whole realm ; 
and, by the plenitude of its authority, whenever it 
meets with an offence contrary to the first principles 

of justice, and of dangerous consequence, if not restrain- 

201 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


ed, it adapts a punishment proper to it. Into this 
court, inquisitions of murder are certified; and hence 
issue attachments for disobeying rules or orders. 

On the plea-side, or civil branch, the Queen’s Bench 
has jurisdiction and takes cognisance of all actions of 
trespass, or other injury, alleged to be committed vi et 
armis, as well as of actions for forgery of deeds, main¬ 
tenance, conspiracy, and deceit, all of which being of a 
criminal nature, although the action is brought for a 
civil remedy, make the defendant liable, in strictness to 
pay a fine to the Queen, besides damages to the injured 
party. Yet even this court is not the dernier resort of 
the subject; for, if he is not satisfied, he may remove his 
plaint by writ of error into the House of Lords, or Court 
of Exchequer Chamber, as the case may happen, or 
according to the nature of the suit, and the manner 
in which it has been prosecuted. This court also 
grants writs of habeas corpus , to relieve persons wrong¬ 
fully imprisoned, and may admit any person whatever 
to bail. 

The Court of Queen’s Bench is removable with the 
person of the Sovereign ; and, accordingly we find that, 
in the reign of Edward the First, it even sat at Box- 
burgh, in Scotland, after Edward’s conquest of that 
kingdom. For this reason, every process issuing out of 
this court is returnable wherever the monarch may be. 
Its sittings are at Westminster Hall, and Guildhall in 
the city of London. Few capital offences, except trea¬ 
sons, are actually tried at Westminster; those com¬ 
mitted in the city of London, or within the county of 
Middlesex, being proceeded against at the Central 
Criminal Court sessions, which are held at the Old 

Bailey twelve times a year, as a court of oyer and ter- 
202 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


miner, and gaol delivery, by her Majesty’s commission 
to the Lord Mayor, those aldermen who have passed the 
civic chair, the recorder, and common serjeant, who are 
attended by the sheriffs of London and Middlesex, and 
by one, sometimes two, or even three, of the fifteen 
judges, who usually try prisoners committed for capital 
offences, forgeries, highway robbery and burglary. The 
prison for the civil offences of the Queen’s Bench is the 
Queen’s Prison, Southwark. 

Court of Common Pleas. —This is also one of the 
supreme courts now constantly held at Westminster, 
though in ancient times, as appears from Magna Charta, 
it was moveable. The jurisdiction of this court extends 
itself through England. In the city of London, one of 
its judges proceeds regularly, after term, to try nisi 
pvius causes at Guildhall. It entertains pleas of all 
civil causes at common law, between subject and sub¬ 
ject, in actions real, personal, or mixed ; and it seems 
once to have been the only court for real causes. In 
personal and mixed actions, it has a concomitant juris¬ 
diction with the Queen’s Bench, besides an exclusive 
one in some particular cases that respect real property; 
but it has no cognisance of pleas of the crown, and 
common pleas are all pleas that are not such. To this 
court are attached five judges, created by letters patent; 
the seal is committed to the custody of the Lord Chief 
Justice. The serjeants-at-law usually lead in this court; 
and the Queen’s serjeants precede all other counsel, ex¬ 
cept the attorney and solicitor-general. 

Court of Exchequer. —.This is an ancient court of 
record, in which all causes relating to the revenue and 
rights of the crown are heard and determined ; and 
where the revenues of the crown are received. The 

203 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


Court of Exchequer, as a common law court, is inferior 
both to the Courts of Queen’s Bench and Common Pleas. 
It was first established by William the Conqueror, but 
subsequently regulated and reduced to its present state 
by Edward the First. On its chequered cloth resem¬ 
bling a chess-board, which covers the table when cer¬ 
tain of the Queen’s accounts are made up, the sums are 
marked and scored with counters. Its present functions 
are two-fold, it being both a court of equity, and a 
court of common law. The court of equity is held in 
the Exchequer Chamber, when the Lord Treasurer, the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Lord Chief Baron, and 
the four puisne barons are presumed to be present. The 
original business of the Exchequer was to call the king’s 
debtors to account, by bill filed by the attorney-general, 
and to recover any lands or other profits or benefits 
belonging to the crown. On the equity side of this 
court the clergy were used to exhibit their bills for non¬ 
payment of tithes. 

High Court of Admiralty.— This court is in Doc¬ 
tors’ Commons. It takes cognisance of all maritime 
pleas, criminal and civil; the latter are determined 
according to civil law, the plaintiff giving security to 
prosecute, and if cast, to pay what is adjudged ; but 
the former are tried by special commission at the Ses¬ 
sions House Old Bailey, by a judge and jury, a judge 
of the common law assisting. To this court properly 
belongs the cognisance of piracies and other crimes 
committed on the high seas. 

Ecclesiastical Courts. —These courts are also held in 
Doctors’ Commons, where a college of civilians is estab¬ 
lished for the study and practice of the civil law. The 
courts held here are the Court of Arches, for appeals 

204 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


from inferior ecclesiastical courts in the province of 
Canterbury; the Prerogative Court, for causes relative 
to wills and administrations; the Faculty Court, em¬ 
powered to grant dispensations to marry, &c. ; and the 
Court of Delegates, for ecclesiastical affairs. The causes 
of which these courts (the jurisdiction of which is under 
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lon¬ 
don) take cognisance and decide upon, agreeably to the 
civil and ecclesiastical law, are such as relate to blas¬ 
phemy, apostacy, heresy, ordinations, institutions to 
benefices, celebration of divine service, matrimony, di¬ 
vorces, illegitimacy, tithes, oblations, mortuaries, repa¬ 
rations of churches, probates of wills, and various other 
matters connected with civil government. 

The terms for the commencement and ending of 
causes in these courts, vary considerably from those of 
the courts of common law. The practitioners are of 
two classes, — advocates and proctors. The former, 
(having taken the degree of doctor of civil law) must 
petition the Archbishop of Canterbury, and obtain his 
fiat previously to their being admitted by the judge to 
practise as counsellors and pleaders. Both the judge 
and the pleaders wear a peculiar dress, according to the 
university from which they have their degree; the 
robes and hoods of those from Oxford are scarlet, lined 
with taffeta ; but if from Cambridge, they wear white 
miniver, and round black velvet caps. The proctors 
(who appear in black robes and hoods lined with fur) 
exhibit their proxies for their clients, making them¬ 
selves parties for them, draw and give pleas, or libels 
and allegations, in their behalf; produce witnesses ; 
prepare causes for sentence, and attend the advocates 
with the proceedings. The Court of Arches sits in the 

205 


COURTS OF JUSTICE. 


morning, the Courts of Admiralty and Prerogative in 
the afternoon, of every day during term. 

In addition to the courts here enumerated, there are 
several others, namely, the Court of Bankruptcy, Basing- 
hall Street ; the Insolvent Debtors’ Court, Portugal 
Street, Lincoln’s Inn; and the County Courts, for the 
recovery of small debts ; all which have district courts 
in various parts of England and Wales, with separate 
and distinct jurisdictions. 

In Ireland the courts of justice are precisely similar 
to those in this country; but in Scotland the supreme 
courts are called Courts of Session, presided over by 
Lords Justices, and regulated by different forms and 
proceedings. 

The country assizes are held twice in every year, 
when the judges go the different circuits of the king¬ 
dom, and try civil actions, and prisoners committed to 
the county gaols for offences of any description. From 
the judgments given in these courts of assize, however, 
there is an appeal to the superior courts in Westminster 
Hall. 


ERRATUM. 


Page 39, Note 1,/or 1509, read 1530. 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 


OF 

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND FRANCE, 

FROM THE TIME OF 


&2Rtlltam tfje Conqueror* 

With the dates of their accession , and duration of their 

respective reigns. 


The number of years given includes the whole of the last year of the reign. 
Thus, Henry I. is stated to have reigned 36 years; that is, he died on the 
2nd of December, in the 36th year of his reign, which commenced Aug. 2. 


A.D. 

1066 

1087 

1094 

1099 

1100 
1108 

1124 

1135 

1137 

1153 

1154 
1165 
1180 
1189 
1199 

1215 

1216 
1233 
1236 
1248 
1270 
1272 

1285 

1286 

1292 

1297 

1306 

1307 
1314 
1316 
1322 
1327 


1329 

1332 

1343 

1350 
1364 
1370 
13 77 


Reigned. Reigned. lleig. 

ENGLAND. Yrs. SCOTLAND. Yrs. FRANCE. Trs. 

October 14.. 2. {“. Ca ”;} 3 7 }{ Philip I... « 

September 9 William Rufus 13 

. Donald XII. .. 6 

. Edgar. 10 

August 2 .. Henry 1. 36 

. Alexander. 18 

July 29 . Louis VI. 30 

. David 1. 30 


December 2.. 
Oct. 1 or 25 . 

Stephen .... 




Louis 

May 23 .... 
October 25.. 

Henry 11._ 

. 35 

Malcolm IV.... 

13 

December 10 


William the Lion 

50 


Sept. 11 .... 

July 7. 

April 6 .... 

Richard I. . 
John. 

. 10 
18 

Alexander II... 

34 

Philip 


43 


43 


October 19 .. Henry III. .. 57 


July 1 or 14 . 
Nov. 7. 




Nov. 16 .... 

Edward I. .. 

35 

to 1292 .... 


r Competition ■» 
t for the Crown. J 

to 1305 .... 



July 7 . 

Nnv. 94 

Edward II. .. 

20 


Jan. 3... 


Jan. 25 .... Edward III... 51 
February . 


41 


Aug. 22 .. 

April 8 . 

Feb. 29 . Robert II. 21 

June 22_ Richard II. .. 23 


June 9 . 


( David II. .. 
Edw. Baliol* 
David II. re¬ 
stored . 


Louis VIII. .. 

4 

Louis IX. 

44 

Philip III.... 

16 

Philip IV. 

30 


Louis X. 

Philip V. 

Charles IV. .. 

Philip VI. 24 


John the Good 14 
Charles V. 17 


* Reigned eleven years of the period included in the reign of David II. 


O'. O'. *3 

























































Reigned Reigned 

A.D. ENGLAND. Yrs. SCOTLAND. Yrs. FRANCE. 

1380 Sept. 16 . ._.. Charles VI. 

1390 April 12 . 

1399 Sept. 29 . 

1406 Marc’ 

1413 March 20 
1422 Aug. 31 


Reig. 
Yrs. 
. 43 


1438 Feb. 21 


146l March 4 .. 

- July 22 

1483 April 9 
- June 26 


6 ’.'.' 

Henry IV.... 

14 

James I.. 


0 .. 

Henry V. 

10 



.... 

Henry VI. ... 

39 






James II. ... 

.. 24 




James III. .. 

.. 28 

.... 

Edward IV... 

23 




Edward V. .. 




.... 

Richard III. . 

3 




39 


Louis XI. 23 


15 


Louis XII. 


17 


1485 Aug. 22 .... Henry VII... 24 

1488 June 9 . James IV. 26 

1498 April 7 . 

1509 April 21 .... HenryVIII... 38 

1513 Sept. 9 . James V. 30 

1515 Jan. 1 . Francis 1. 33 

1542 Dec. 13. Mary . 25 

1547 Jan. 28 .... Edward VI... 7 

- March 31 . Henry II. 13 

1553 July 6 . Mary. 6 

1558 Nov. 17 .... Elizabeth.... 45 

1559 July 11 . Francis II. 

1560 December. Charles IX. 

(James VI., 

1567 July 24. 


2 

14 


1574 May 30 
1589 Aug. 2. 


i 


afterwards 
James I. of 
England. 


36 


ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND UNITED. 

1603 March 24. James I. 

I6ll May 14. 

1625 March 27 . Charles I. 

1643 May 14. 

1649 January30 .... Charles II. 

1649 to 1660 . Usurpation of Cromwell. 

1685 February 6 .... James II. 

1689 . William III. and Mary.. 

1694 December 28 .. William III. (alone) .... 
1702 March 8 . Anne. 

1714 August 1. George I. 

1715 September 1..».. 

1727 June 11. George II. 

1760 October 25 .... George III... 

1774 May 10. 

1792 . 

1793 January 21 
1796 June 9 ••• • 

1799 to 1804.... 


23 

24 
37 

5 

6 
8 

13 

13 

34 

60 


. .. Henry III.... 16 

. .. Henry IV. 21 

FRANCE. 

Louis XIII. 33 

Louis XIV. 73 


Louis XV... 
Louis XVI. 


59 


> < 


1804 to 1814 . 

1814. 

1820 January 29 .. 

1824 September 16 

1830 June 26 . William IV 

- August 9 . 

1837 June 20 . Victoria I. 

1848 February 23. 


George IV.. ll 


. 19 

v 

Louis XVII. 3 

Louis XVIII.31 

„ Consulate. 5 

Napoleon . 10 

Louis XVIII. restored. 


>1 

<D 


Charles X. 6 


Louis Philippe I. 
Republic. 


18 
























































































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THE LATE THOMAS HOOD. 

FAIRY LAND; 

Or, .Recreation for the Rising Generation, in Prose and 
Verse. By the late Thomas and Jane Hood, their Son and 
Daughter, &c. Illustrated by T. Hood, Jun. Super-royal 
16mo, price 3s. 6d. cloth; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ These tales are charming. Before it goes into the nursery, we recom¬ 
mend that all grown-up people should study ‘ Fairy Land.’ ” — lilaclcivood. 


THE HEADLONG CAREER AND WOFUL ENDING OF 

PKECOCIOUS PIGGY. Written for his Children, by the 
late Thomas Hood. With a Preface by his Daughter; and 
Illustrated by his Son. Third Edition. Post 4to, price 
2s. 6d. coloured p3s. 6d. mounted on cloth. 

“The Illustrations are intensely humorous .”—The Critic. 


















10 GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


THE NINE LIVES OF A CAT: 

A Tale of Wonder. Written and Illustrated by C. H. 
Bennett. Twenty-four Engravings. Imperial 16mo, price 
2s. cloth ; 2s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Rich in the quaint humour and fancy that a man of genius knows how to 
spare for the enlivenment of children.”— Examiner. 


LANDELLS’ INSTRUCTIVE AND AMUSING WORKS. 

THE BOY’S OWN TOY MAKER: 

A Practical Illustrated Guide to the useful employment of 
Leisure Hours. By E. Landells. Sixth Edition. With 
200 Illustrations. Royal 16mo, price 2s. 6d. cloth. 

“ A new and valuable form of endless amusement.”— Nonconformist. 

“We recommend it to all who have children to be instructed and amused.” 
— Economist. 

THE GIRL’S OWN TOY MAKER, 

And Book of Recreation. By E. and A. Landells. Third 
Edition. With 200 Illustrations. Royal ldmo, price 2s. 6d, 
cloth. 

“A perfect magazine of information.”— Illustrated News of the World. 

HOME PASTIME; 

Or, The Child’s Own Toy Maker. With practical 
instructions. By E. Landells. New Edition. Price 3s. dd. 
complete, with the Cards and Descriptive Letter-press. 

%* By this novel and ingenious “ Pastime,” beautiful Models 
can be made by Children from the Cards, by attending to the 
plain and simple Instructions in the Book. 

“ As a delightful exercise of ingenuity, and a most sensible mode of pass¬ 
ing a winter’s evening, we commend the Child’s own Toy Maker.”— Illus¬ 
trated News. 

“ Should be in every house blessed with the presence of children.”— The 
Field. 

THE ILLUSTRATED PAPER MODEL MAKER: 

Containing Twelve Pictorial Subjects, with Descriptive 
Letter-press and Diagrams for the Construction of the 
Models. By E. Landells. Price 2s., in a neat Envelope. 

“ A most excellent method of educating both eye and hand in the know¬ 
ledge of form.”— English Churchman. 



















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 


11 


BLIND MAN’S HOLIDAY; 

Or, Short Tales for the Nursery. By the Author of “ Mia 
and Charlie,” &c. Illustrated by Absolon. Super-royal 
16mo, price 3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Very true to nature and admirable in feeling.”— Guardian. 


FUNNY FABLES FOB LITTLE FOLKS. 

By Frances Freeling Broderip (Daughter of the late 
Thomas Hood). Illustrated®by her Brother. Super-royal 
16mo, price 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“The Fables contain the happiest mingling of fun, fancy, humour, and 
instruction .”—Art Journal. 


WORKS FOR DISTRIBUTION. 

A WOMAN’S SECBET; 

Or, How to Make Home Happy. Twenty-fourth Thousand. 
18mo, with Frontispiece. Price 6d. 

By the same Author, uniform in size and price. 

WOMAN’S WORK; ‘ 

Or, How she can Help the Sick. Fourteenth Thousand. 

A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS; 

Or, the Mother’s Assistant in cases of Burns, Scalds, Cuts, 
&c. Seventh Thousand. 

PAY TO-DAY, TRUST TO-MORROW: 

A Story founded on Facts, illustrative of the Evils of the 
Tally System. Fifth Thousand. 

NURSERY WORK; 

Or, Hannah Baker’s First Place. Fourth Thousand. 

STORIES OF HOME LIFE. 

Being the Four First Works as above, bound in One Volume, 
price 2s. 6d. cloth. 

FAMILY PRAYERS FOR COTTAGE HOMES; 

With a few Words on Prayer, and Select Scripture Pas¬ 
sages. Fcap. 8vo, price 4d. limp cloth. 

%* These little works are admirably adapted for circulation among the 
working classes. 

A 4 

















12 


GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


THE TRIUMPHS OF STEAM; 


Or, Stories from the Lives of Watt, Arkwright, and 
Stephenson. By the Author of '‘Might not Bight,” “ Our 
Eastern Empire,” &c. With Illustrations by J. Gilbert. 
Dedicated by permission to the late Robert Stephenson. 
Second Edition. Royal 16mo, price 3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. 
coloured, gilt edges. 

“ A most delicious volume of examples .”—Art Journal. 


MIGHT NOT RIGHT; 

Or, Stories of 



America. Illustrated by J. Gilbert. Royal 16mo, price 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, and gilt edges. 

“ With the fortunes of Columbus, Cortes, and Pizarro, for the staple of 
these stories, the writer has succeeded in producing a very interesting 
volume .”—Illustrated News. 


HISTORY OF INDIA FOR THE YOUNG. 


OUR EASTERN EMPIRE; 


Or, Stories from the History of British India. With 
Four Illustrations. Second Edition, with continuation to 
the Proclamation of Queen Victoria. Royal 16mo, 3s. 6d. 
cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ These stories are charming, and convey a general view of the progress of 
our Empire in the East. The tales are told with admirable clearness.”— 
Athenaeum. 



Or, Tales of the Vaudois. Frontispiece by J. Gilbert. 
Royal 16mo, price 3s. 6d. cloth. 

“While practical lessons run throughout, they are never obtruded} the 
whole tone is relined without affectation, religious and cheerful .”—English 
Churchman. 



Or, the Autobiography of a Donkey. By the Author of 
“ The Triumphs of Steam,” &c. &c. Illustrated by Har¬ 
rison Weir. Second Edition. Super-royal 16mo, price 
2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ A very intelligent donkey, worthy of the distinction conferred upon him 
by the artist .”—Art Journal. 



















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBURY AND HARRIS. 13 


HOLIDAYS AMONG THE MOUNTAINS ; 

Or, Scenes and Stories of Wales. By M. Betham Edwards. 
Illustrated by F. J. Skill. Super-royal 16mo, price 3s. 6d. 
cloth; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ The most charming book for girls we have met with for a long time.”— 
lull’s Messenger. 


| THE FAIRY TALES OE SCIENCE: 

A Book for Youth. By J. C. Brough. With 16 beautiful 
Illustrations by C. H. Bennett. Fcap. Svo, price 5s. cloth. 

“ Science, perhaps, was never made more attractive and easy of entrance 
into the youthful mind .”—The Builder. 

“Altogether the volume is one of the most original, as well as one of the 
! most useful, books of the season.”— Gentleman’s Magazine, 


| SUNDAY EVENINGS WITH SOPHIA; 

Or, Little Talks on Great Subjects. A Book for Girls. 

By Leonora G. Bell. With Frontispiece by J. Absolon. 
j Fcap. 8vo, price 2s. 6d. cloth. 

“ A very suitable gift for a thoughtful girl.”— Bell’s Messenger. 

SCENES OE ANIMAL LIFE AND CHARACTER: 

From Nature and Recollection. In Twenty Plates. By 
J. B. 4to, price 2s. plain; 2s. 6d. coloured, fancy boards. 

“ Truer, heartier, more playful, or more enjoyable sketches of animal life 
could scarcely be found anywhere.”— Spectator. 

; I 

- _ - 

PICTORIAL GEOGRAPHY, ! 

For the Use of Children, presenting at one View Illustrations ! 
of the various Geographical Terms, and thus imparting clear ' 
and definite Ideas of their Meaning. On a large sheet Im¬ 
perial, price 2s. 6d., printed in tints ; 5s. on roller, var¬ 
nished. 


HAND SHADOWS, 

To be thrown upon the Wall. By Henry Bursill. First 
and Second Series, each containing Eighteen Novel and 
Original Designs. 4to, price 2s. each, plain; 2s. fid. 
coloured. 

“ Uncommonly clever— some wonderful effects are produced .”—The Brest. 

A 5 






















14 GRIFFITH AND F ARRAN, 


OLD NURSE’S BOOK OF RHYMES, JINGLES, AND 

Ditties. Edited and Illustrated by C. H. Bennett, 
Author of “Shadows.” With Ninety Engravings. Fcap. 
4to, price 3s. 6d. cloth, plain, or 6s. coloured. 

“ The illustrations are all so replete with fun and imagination, that we 
scai’cely know who will be most pleased with the book, the good-natured 
grandfather who gives it, or the chubby grandchild who gets it, for a 
Christmas-Box .”—Notes and Queries. 


BERRIES AND BLOSSOMS: 

A Verse Book for Young Children. By T. Westwood. 
With coloured Frontispiece and Title. Super-royal 16mo, 
price 3s. 6d. gilt edges. 

THE GRATEFUL SPARROW. 

A True Story. Third Edition, with Frontispiece. Price 6d. 
sewed. 

HOW I BECAME A GOVERNESS. 

By the Author of “The Grateful Sparrow.” With Frontis- 
piece. Price Is. sewed. 

DICKY BIRDS. 

A True Story, by the Author of “ The Grateful Sparrow.” 
With Frontispiece. Price 6d. 


JACK FROST AND BETTY SNOW; 

With other Tales for Wintry Nights and Rainy 
Days. Illustrated by H. Weir. 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. 
coloured, gilt edges. 

“ The dedication of these pretty tales proves by whom they are written • 
they are indelibly stamped with that natural and graceful method of amusing 
while instructing which only persons of genius possess .”—Art Journal. 


MAUD SUMMERS THE SIGHTLESS: 


A Narrative for the Young. Illustrated by Absolon. 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ A touchiug and beautiful story.”— Christian Treasury. 


CLARA HOPE; 

Or, The Blade and the Ear. By Miss Milner. With 
Frontispiece by Birket Foster. Fcap. 8vo, price 3s. 6d. 
cloth ; 4s. 6d. cloth elegant, gilt edges. * 

“ A beautiful narrative, showing how bad habits may bp eradicated and 
evil tempers subdued .”—British Mother's Journal. 5 











SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 


15 


THE ADVENTURES AND EXPERIENCES OF BIDDY 

Dorking, and of the Fat Frog. Edited by Mrs. S. C. 
Hall. Illustrated by H. Weir. 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. 
coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Most amusingly and wittily told .”—Morning Herald. 


HISTORICAL ACTING CHARADES; 

Or, Amusements for Winter Evenings. By the Author 
of “Cat and Dog,” &c. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo, price 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. gilt edges. 

“A rarebook for Christmas parties, and of practical value .”—Illustrated News. 


THE STORY OF JACK AND THE GIANTS. 

With Thirty-five Illustrations by Richard Doyle. Beauti¬ 
fully printed. New and Cheaper Edition. Fcap. 4to, price 
2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. coloured, cloth, gilt edges. 

“ In Doyle’s drawings we have wonderful conceptions, which will secure the 
book a place amongst the treasures of collectors, as well as excite the imagi¬ 
nations of children ,’*—Illustrated Times. 


THE EARLY DAWN; 

Or, Stories to think about. By a Country Clergyman. 
Illustrated by H. Weir, &c. Small 4to, price 2s. 6d. 
cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“The matter is both whojesome and instructive, and must fascinate as 
well as benefit the young.”— Literarium. 


ANGELO; 

Or, the Pine Forest among the Alps. By Geraldine 
E. Jewsbury, Author of “The Adopted Child,” &c. With 
Illustrations by John Absolon. Small 4to, price 2s. 6d. I 
cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“As pretty a child’s story as one might look for on a winter’s clay.”— 
Examiner. 


GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR; 

And its Tales of Fairy Times. By Frances Browne. 
With Illustrations by Kenny Meadows. Small 4to. 1 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ One of the happiest blendings of marvel and moral we have ever seen.” 

—Literary Gazette. 



























16 


GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


THE HISTORY OE A QUARTERN LOAE. 

"Rhymes and Pictures. By William Newman. 12 Illus¬ 
trations. Price 6d. plain, Is. coloured; or mounted on 
linen and bound in cloth, 2s. 6d. 

Uniform in size and price. 

THE HISTORY OF A SCUTTLE OF COALS. 

THE HISTORY OF A CUP OF TEA. 

THE HISTORY OF A LUMP OF SUGAR. 

THE HISTORY OF A BALE OF COTTON. (Just published.) 
THE HISTORY OF A GOLDEN SOVEREIGN. <J"*t pub- 

lished.) 

*** The Loaf, Tea, and Sugar bound in one volume, cloth, 2s. plain, 
3s. 6d. coloured; also Sugar, Cotton, and Gold, in one volume, same price. 


FAGGOTS FOR THE FIRESIDE; 

Or, Tales of Pact and Fancy. By Peter Parley . Twelve 
Tinted Illustrations. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. 
cloth; 4s. 6d. coloured. 

“A new work by Peter Parley is a pleasant greeting for all boys and girls, 
wherever the English language is spoken or read. He has a happy method 
of conveying information, while seeming to address himself to the imagina- 
I tion.”— The Critic. 

I THE DISCONTENTED CHILDREN; 

And how they were Cured. By Mary and Eliz. Kirby. 
Illustrated by H. K. Browne (Phiz). Second Edition, 
price 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ We know no better method of banishing ‘discontent’ from school-room 
and nursery than by introducing this wise and clever story to their inmates.” 
—Art Journal. 

\ THE TALKING BIRD; 

Or, The Little Girl who knew what was going to 
Happen. By M. and E. Kirby. With Illustrations by 
H. K. Browne. Price 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured. 

“The story is ingeniously told, and the moral clearly shown.” 

Athenaeum. 

JULIA MAITLAND; 

Or, Pride goes before a Fall. By M. and E. Kirby. 
Illustrated by John Absolon. Price 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. 
coloured, gilt edges. 

“ It is nearly such a story as Miss Edgeworth might have written on the 
1 same theme.”— The Tress. 

I 

















SUCCESSORS TO NEWEERY AND HARRIS. 


17 


! TALES OF MAGIC AND MEANING. 

Written and Illustrated by Alfred Crowquill. Price 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Cleverly written and abounding in frolic and pathos, and inculcating so 
pure a moral, that we must pronounce him a very fortunate little fellow who 
catches these ‘ Tales of Magic’ from a Christmas-tree.”— Athenaeum. 


THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE THAT 

JACK BUILT. Splendidly Illustrated and magnificently 
Illuminated by The Son of a Genius. Price 2s., in fancy 
cover. 

“ Magnificent in suggestion, and most comical in expression.”— 
Athenaeum. 


| LETTERS FROM SARAAVAK, 

Addressed to a Child. Embracing an Account of the Man¬ 
ners, Customs, and Religion of the Inhabitants of Borneo, 
with Incidents of Missionary Life. By Mrs. M'Dougall. 
Fourth Thousand, with Illustrations. 3s. 6d. cloth. 

“ All is new, interesting, and admirably told .”—Church and State Gazette. 


I 


COMICAL PICTURE BOOKS. 
Vniform in size with “ The Struwwelpeter.” 


PICTURE FABLES. 

Written and Illustrated by Alfred Crowquill* Sixteen 
large coloured Plates. Price 2s. 6*d. fancy boards. 

THE CARELESS CHICKEN. 

By the Baron Krakemsides. With Sixteen large coloured 
Plates, by Alfred Crowquill. 4to, 2s. 6d. fancy boards. 

FUNNY LEAVES FOR THE YOUNGER BRANCHES. 

By the Baron Krakemsides of Burstenoudelafen Castle. 
Illustrated by Alfred Crowquill. Coloured Plates. 2s. 6d. 

LAUGH AND GROW WISE. 

By the Senior Owl of Ivy Hall. With Sixteen Large 
Coloured Plates. 4to, price 2s. 6d. fancy boards. 

* * Mounted on cloth, Is. each extra. 

A 6 





















18 


GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


PEEP AT THE PIXIES; 

Or, Legends of the West. By Mrs. Bray, Author of 
“Life of Stothard,” &c. Illustrations by H. K. Browne 
(Phiz). Price 3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“A peep at the actual Pixies of Devonshire, faithfully described by Mrs. 
Bray, is a treat. Her knowledge of the locality, her affection for her sub¬ 
ject, her exquisite feeling for nature, and her real delight in fairy lore, have 
given a freshness to the little volume we did not expect. The notes at the 
end contain matter of interest for all who feel a desire to know the origin of 
such tales and legends .”—Art Journal. 


OCEAN AND HER EULERS; 

A Narrative of the Nations who have from the Earliest 
Ages held dominion over the Sea ; comprising a brief History 
of Navigation, from the remotest Periods to the Present 
Time. By Alfred Elwes. Ecap. 8vo, os. cloth. 

“ The volume is replete with valuable and interesting information; and 
we cordially recommend it as a useful auxiliary in the school-room, and 
entertaining companion in the library .”—Morning Post. 


A BOOK FOR EVERY CHILD. 

THE FAVOURITE PICTURE-ROOK: 

A Gallery of Delights, designed for the Amusement and 
Instruction of the Young. With several hundred Illustra¬ 
tions from Drawings by J. Absolon, H. K. Browne 
(Phiz), J. Gilbert, T. Landseer, J. Leech, J. S. Prout, 
H. Weir, &c. New Edition. .Royal 4to, price 3s. 6d. 
bound in anew and elegant cover; 7s. 6d. coloured; 10s. 6d. 
coloured and mounted on cloth. 


THE DAY OF A BABY-EOY • 

A Story for a Little Child. By E. Berger, with Illustra¬ 
tions by John Absolon. Second Edition. Super-royal 
16mo, price 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ A sweet little book for the nursery .”—Christian Tima. 


CAT AND DOG; 

Or, Memoirs of Puss and the Captain. A Story founded 
on Fact. Illustrated by Harrison Weir. Sixth Edition. 
Super-royal 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges’ 

“ The author of this amusing little tale is evidently a keen observer of 
nature. The illustrations are well executed; and the moral which points 
the tale is conveyed in the most attractive form .’’—Britannia. 

























SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 19 


THE DOLL AND HER FRIENDS; 

Or, Memoirs of the Lady Seraphina, By the Author 
of “ Cat and Dog.” Third Edition. With Four Illus¬ 
trations by H. K. Browne (Phiz). Small 4to, 2s. 6d. cloth ; 
3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Evidently written by one who has brought great powers to bear upon 
a small matter.”— Morning Herald. 


CLARISSA DONNELLY; 

Or, The History of an Adopted Child. By Geraldine 

E. Jewsbury. With an Illustration by John Absolon. 

Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth; 4s. gilt edges. 

“With wonderful power, only to be matched by as admirable a sim¬ 
plicity, Miss Jewsbury has narrated the history of a child. For nobility of 
purpose, for simple, nervous writing, and for artistic construction, it is one 
of the most valuable works of the day.”— Lady’s Companion . 


I FAMILIAR NATURAL HISTORY. 

With Foi’ty-two Illustrations by Harrison Weir, and de¬ 
scriptive lettei*-press by Mrs. R. Lee. Price 3s. t>d. cloth, 
plain ; 5s. coloured, gilt edges. 


HARRY HAWKINS’S HBOOK; 

Showing how he Learned to Aspirate his H’s. Frontis¬ 
piece by Weir. Second Edition, price 6d. 

“ No family or schoolroom within, or indeed beyond, the sound of Bow 
bells, should be without this merry manual.”— Art Journal. 


THE FAMILY BIBLE NEWLY OPENED: 

With Uncle Goodwin’s Account of it. By Jefferys 
Taylor, Author of “"A Glanceatthe Globe,”&c. Frontis¬ 
piece by J. Gilbert. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 

“ A very good account of the Sacred Writings, adapted to the taste, 
feelings, and intelligence of young people.”— Educational Times. 

“ Parents will also find it a great aid in the religious teaching of their 
families.”— Edinburgh Witness. 


KATE AND ROSALIND; 

Or, Early Experiences. By the Author of “ Quicksands 
on Foreign Shores,” &c. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth; 4s. gilt 
edges. 

“A book of unusual merit. The story is exceedingly well told, and the 
characters are drawn with a freedom and boldness seldom met with.”— 
Church of England Quarterly. 

“ The Irish scenes are of an excellence that has not been surpassed since 
the best days of Miss Edgeworth.”— Fraser's Magazine. 
























20 


GRIFFITH AND FAREAN, 


WORKS BY THE LATE MRS. R. LEE. 

| ANECDOTES OF THE HABITS AND INSTINCTS OF 

ANIMALS. Third and Cheaper Edition. With Six Illus¬ 
trations by Weir. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth, 4s. gilt edges. 

ANECDOTES OF THE HABITS AND INSTINCTS OF 

BIRDS, FISHES, AND REPTILES. Second and Cheaper 
Edition. With Six Illustrations by Harrison Weir. Fcap. j 
8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth; 4s. gilt edges. 

“Amusing, instructive, and ably written.”— Literary Gazette. 

“Mrs. Lee’s authorities—to name only one, Professor Owen—are, for 
the most part, first-rate.”— Athenaeum. 

ADVENTURES IN AUSTRALIA; 

' Or, The Wanderings op Captain Spencer in the Bush 
and the Wilds. Second Edition. Illustrated by Prout. 
Fcap. 8vo, 5s. cloth; 5s. 6d. gilt edges. 

“ This volume should find a place in every school library, and it will, we 
are sure, be a very welcome and useful prize.”— Educational Times. 

THE AFRICAN WANDERERS; 

Or, The Adventures op Carlos and Antonio ; embracing 
interesting Descriptions of the Manners and Customs of the 
Western Tribes. Third Edition. With Eight Engravings. 
Fcap. 8vo, 5s. cloth; 5s. 6d. gilt edges. 

“ In strongly recommending this admirable work to the attention of 
young readers, we feel that we are rendering a real service to the cause of 
African civilization.”— Patriot. 

TWELVE STORIES OF THE SAYINGS AND DOINGS OF 

ANIMALS. With Illustrations by J. W. • Archer. 
Third Edition, 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

PLAYING AT SETTLERS; 

Or, The Eaggot House. Second Edition. Illustrated 
by Gilbert. Price 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. coloured. 

ELEGANT GIFT FOR A LADY. 

TREES, PLANTS, AND FLOWERS; 

Their Beauties, Uses, and Influences. By Mrs. R. Lee. 
With beautiful coloured Illustrations by J. Andrews. 8vo, 
piice 10s. 6d. cloth elegant, gilt edges. 

“ The volume is at once useful as a botanical work, and exquisite as the 
ornament of a boudoir table.”— Britannia. 

“As full of interest as of beauty.”— Art Journal. 


















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 21 


W. H. G. KINGSTON’S BOOKS FOR BOYS. 

With Illustrations, Fcap. 8vo, price 5s. each, cloth; 5s. 6d. 

gilt edges. 



Or, the Life and Adventures of a British Seaman of the Old 
School. 

“ There is about all Mr. Kingston’s tales a spirit of hopefulness, honesty, 
and cheery good principle, which makes them most wholesome as well as 
most interesting reading. This volume would form au appropriate addition 
to any ship-board library.”— Era. 

WILL WEATHERHELM: 

Or, The Yarn of an Old Sailor about his Early Life 
and Adventures. Illustrated by G. H. Thomas. 

“Overflowing with maritime adventures, and characters graphically 
described.”— Critic. 

FRED MARKHAM IN RUSSIA; 

Or, The Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar. 
With Illustrations by R. T. Landells. 

“ Most admirably does this book unite a capital narrative with the com¬ 
munication of valuable information respecting Russia.”— Nonconformist. 

SALT WATER; 

Or, Neil D’Arcy’s Sea Life and Adventures (a Book 
for Boys). With Eight Illustrations by Anelay. 

“ With the exception of Captain Marryat, we know of no English author 
who will compare with Mr. Kingston as a writer of books of nautical adven¬ 
ture.”— Illustrated Netcs. 

MANCO, THE PERUVIAN CHIEF. 

With Illustrations by Carl Schmolze. 

“ A capital book; the story being one of much interest, and presenting a 
good account of the history and institutions, the customs and manners of the 
country.”— Literary Gazette. 

MARK SEAWORTH: 

A Tale of the Indian Ocean. With Illustrations by J. 
Absolon. Second Edition. 

“ No more interesting, nor more safe book, can be put into the hands of 
youth ; and to boys especially ‘ Mark Seaworth’ will be a treasure of de¬ 
light.”— Art Journal. 

PETER THE WHALER: 

His Early Life and Adventures in the Arctic Regions. 
Second Edition. With Illustrations by E. Duncan. 

“ In short, a book which the old may, but which the young must, read 
when they have once begun it.”— Athenaeum. 









22 GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


NEW AND BEAUTIFUL LIBRARY EDITION. 

THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD : 

A Tale. By Oliver Goldsmith. Printed by Whittingham. 
With Eight Illustrations by J. Absolon. Square fcap. 
8vo, price 5s. cloth; 7s. half-bound morocco, Boxburghe 
style ; 10s. 6d. antique morocco. 

“ Mr. Absolon’s graphic sketches add greatly to the interest of the 
volume : altogether, it is as pretty an edition of the ‘Vicar’ as we have seen. 
Mrs. Primrose herself would consider it ‘ well dressed.’ ”—Art Journal. 

“ A delightful edition of one of the most delightful of works : the fine old 
type and thick paper make this volume attractive to any lover of books.”— 
Edinburgh Guardian. 


\ GOOD IN EVERYTHING; 

Or, The Early History of Gilbert Harland. By Mrs. 
Barwell, Author of “ Little Lessons for Little Learners, 
&c. Second Edition. With Illustrations by John Gilbert. 
Boyal 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“The moral of this exquisite little tale will do more good than a thousand 
set tasks abounding with dry and uninteresting ti’uisms.”— Bell’s Messenger. 

_ 

! DOMESTIC PETS: 

j 

Their Habits and Management; with Illustrative Anecdotes. 
By Mrs. Loudon. With Illustrations by Harrison Weir. 
Second Thousand. Ecap. 8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth. 

Contents :—The Hog, Cat, Squirrel, Babbit, Guinea- 
Pig, White Mice, the Parrot and other Talking-Birds, 
Singing-Birds, Doves and Pigeons, Gold and Silver Fish. 

“All who study Mrs. Loudon’s pages will be able to treat their pets with 
certainty and wisdom .”—Standard of Freedom. 


TALES 0E SCHOOL LIRE. 

By Agnes Loudon, Author of “ Tales for Young People.” | 
With Illustrations by John Absolon. Second Edition, j 
Boyal 16mo, 2s. 6d. plain; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“These reminiscences of school-days will be recognised as truthful pic- i 
j tares of every-day occurrence. The style is colloquial and pleasant, and 
therefore well suited to those for whose perusal it is intended.”— Athenceum. 

















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 23 


THE FAVOURITE LIBRARY. 

A Series of Works for the Young ; each with an Illustration 
by a well-known Artist. Price One Shilling, cloth. 

1. THE ESKDALE HERD- BOY. By Lady Stoddart. 

2. MRS. LEICESTER’S SCHOOL. By Charles and ‘ 

Mary Lamb. 

3. HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. By Mrs. Trimmer. 

4. MEMOIRS OF BOB THE SPOTTED TERRIER. 

5. KEEPER’S TRAVELS IN SEARCH OF HIS 

MASTER. 

6. THE SCOTTISH ORPHANS. By Lady Stoddart. 

7. NEVER WRONG ; or, THE YOUNG DISPU¬ 

TANT ; and “IT WAS ONLY IN FUN.” 

8. THE LIFE AND PERAMBULATIONS OF A 

MOUSE. 

9. EASY INTRODUCTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE 

OF NATURE. By Mrs. Trimmer. 

10. RIGHT AND WRONG. By the Author of “ Always 

Happy.” 

11. HARRY’S HOLIDAY, By Jefferys Taylor. 

12. SHORT POEMS AND HYMNS FOR CHILDREN. 

The above may be had, Two Volumes bound in one, at Two Shillings 
cloth ; or 2s. 6d. gilt edges, as follows :— 

1. LADY STODDART’S SCOTTISH TALES. 

2. ANIMAL HISTORIES. The Dog. 

3. ANIMAL HISTORIES. The Robins and Mouse, 

4. TALES FOR BOYS. Harry’s Holiday and Never 

Wrong. 

5. TALES FOR GIRLS. Mrs. Leicester’s School 

and Right and Wrong. 

l 

6. POETRY AND NATURE, Short Poems and Trim¬ 

mer’s Introduction. 


















I 



GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


TALES FROM CATLAND. 

Dedicated to the Young Kittens of England. By an Old 
Tabby. Illustrated by H. Weir. Fourth Edition. Small 
4to, 2s. 6d. plain; 3s. 6d. coloured. 

“The combination of quiet humour and sound sense has made this one of 
the pleasantest little hooks of the season.”— Lady’s Newspaper. 


THE WONDERS OF HOME, IN ELEVEN STORIES. 

By Grandfather Grey. With Illustrations. Third Edition, 
roy. 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth; 3s. 6d. coloured .—Contents :— 
Story of- 


-1. A Cup of Tea. 2. 

3. A Milk-Jug. 4. 

5. Some Hot Water. 6. 

7. Jenny’s Sash. 8. 

9. A Tumbler. 10. 

11. This Book. 

“ The idea is excellent, and its execution equally commendable. The 
subjects are very happily told in a light yet sensible manner .”—Weekly News. 


A Piece of Sugar. 
A Lump of Coal. 

A Pin. 

Harry’s Jacket. 

A Knife. 


EVERY-DAY THINGS; 

Or, Useful Knowledge respecting the Principal Animal, 
Vegetable, and Mineral Substances in Common Use. 
Written for Young Persons, by a Lady. Second Edition, 
revised. 18mo, Is. 6d. cloth. 

“ A little encyclopaedia of useful knowledge; deserving a place in every 
juvenile library .”—Evangelical Magazine. 


PRICE SIXPENCE EACH, PLAIN; ONE SHILLING, COLOURED. 

In super-royal 16rno, beautifully printed, each with Seven Illus¬ 
trations by Harrison Weir, and Descriptions by Mrs. Lee. 

1. BRITISH ANIMALS. First Series. 

2. BRITISH ANIMALS. Second Series. 

3. BRITISH BIRDS. 

4. FOREIGN ANIMALS. First Series. 

5. FOREIGN ANIMALS, Second Series. 

6. FOREIGN BIRDS. 

*** Or bound in One Yol. under the title of u Familiar Natural 

History,” see paye 19. 

Uniform in size and price with the above. 

THE FARM AND ITS SCENES. With Six Pictures from 
Drawings by Harrison Weir. 

THE DIVERTING HISTORY OF JOHN GILPIN. With 
Six Illustrations by Watts Phillips. 

THE PEACOCK AT HOME AND THE BUTTERFLY’S 
BALL. With Four Illustrations by Harrison Weir. 





















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 25 


A WORD TO THE WISE; 

Or, Hints on the Current Impropriety oe Expression 
in Writing and Speaking. By Parry Gwynne. Tenth 
Thousand. 18mo, price 6d. sewed, or Is. cloth, gilt edges. 

“All who wish to mind their p’s and q’s should consult this little volume.” 
— Gentleman’s Magazine. 

“May be advantageously consulted by even the well-educated.”— 
Athenaeum. 


STORIES OF JULIAN AND HIS PLAYFELLOWS. 

Written by his Mamina. With Four Illustrations by John 
Absolon. Second Edition. Small 4to, 2s. 6d. plain ; 3s. 6d. 
coloured, gilt edges. 

“ The. lessons taught by Julian’s mamma are each fraught with an excel¬ 
lent moral.”— Morning Advertiser. 


BLADES AND FLOWERS; 

Poems for Children. By M. S. C. Frontispiece by H. 
Anelay. Fcap. 8vo, price 2s. cloth. 

“Breathing the same spirit as the nursery poems of Jane Taylor.”— 
Literary Gazette. 


AUNT JANE’S VERSES FOR CHILDREN. 

By Mrs. T. D. Crewdson. Illustrated with twelve beauti¬ 
ful Engravings. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 

“A charming little volume of excellent moral and religious tendency.”— 
Evangelical Magazine. 


ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. 

KIT BAM, THE BRITISH SINBAD; 

Or, The Yarns of an Old Mariner. By Mary Cow- 
den Clarke, Author of “The Concordance to Shakspeare,” 
&c. Fcap. 8vo, price 3s. 6d. cloth; 4s. gilt edges. 

“ A more captivating volume for juvenile recreative reading we never 
remember to have seen.”— Standard of Freedom. 

















26 GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


RHYMES OF ROYALTY. 

The History of England in Verse, from the Norman 
Conquest to the reign of Queen Victoria ; with an Ap¬ 
pendix, comprising a Summary of the leading events in 
each reign. Ecap. 8vo, with Frontispiece. 2s. 6d. cloth. 


THE LADY’S ALBUM OF FANCY WORK; 

Consisting of Novel, Elegant, and Useful Patterns in Knitting, 
Netting, Crochet, and Embroidery, printed in colours. Bound 
in a beautiful cover. New Edit. Post 4to, 3s. 6d. gilt edges. 


VISITS TO BEECHWOOD FARM; 

Or, Country Pleasures and Hints for Happiness, ad¬ 
dressed to the Young. By Catharine M. A. Couper. 
Illustrations by Absolon. Small 4to, 3s. 6d. plain; 4s. 6d. col. 

“ The work is well calculated to impress upon the minds of the young the 
superiority of simple and natural pleasures OYer those which are artificial.” 
— Englishwoman’s Magazine. 


MARIN DE LA VOYE’S ELEMENTARY FRENCH WORKS. 

LES JEUNES NARRATEURS; 

Ou, Petits Contes Moraux. With a Key to the difficult 
Words and Phrases. Frontispiece. Second Edition. 18mo, 
2s. cloth. 

“ Written in pure and easy French .”—Morning Post. 

THE PICTORIAL FRENCH GRAMMAR, 

For the Use of Children. With Eighty Engravings. 
Hoyal 16mo ; price Is. 6d. cloth; Is. sewed. 

“ The publication has greater than mechanical merit; it contains the 
principal elements of the French language, exhibited in a plain and expres¬ 
sive manner.”— Spectator. 






















I 


SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 


27 


THE FIRST BOOK OF GEOGRAPHY: 

A Text Book for Beginners, and a Guide to the Young 
Teacher. By Hugo Reid, Author of “ Elements of Astro¬ 
nomy.” Third Edition, carefully revised. 18ino, Is. sewed. 

<c Oue of the most sensible little books on the subject of Geography we 
have met with.”— Educational Times. “ As a lesson-book it will charm the 
pupil by its brief, natural style.”— Episcopalian. 


j THE MODERN BRITISH PLUTARCH; 

Or, Lives of Men distinguished in the recent His¬ 
tory of our Country for their Talents, Virtues, 
and Achievements. By W. C. Taylor, LL.D., Author 
of “ A Manual of Ancient and Modern History,” &c. 
12mo. Second Thousand. 4s. 6d. cloth; 5s. gilt edges. 

“ A work which will be welcomed in any circle of intelligent young per¬ 
sons.”— British Quarterly Review • 


HOME AMUSEMENTS: 

A Choice Collection of Riddles, Charades, Conundrums, 
Parlour Games, and Forfeits. By Peter Puzzlewell, Esq., 
of Rebus Hall. New Edition, revised and enlarged, with 
Frontispiece by H. K. Browne (Phiz). 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth. 


EARLY HAYS OF ENGLISH PRINCES. 

By Mrs. Russell Grey. Dedicated, by permission, to the 
Duchess of Roxburghe. With Illustrations by John Frank¬ 
lin. Small 4to, 3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ Just the book for giving children some first notions of English history, 
as the personages it speaks about are themselves young.”— Manchester 
Examiner. 


FIRST STEPS TO SCOTTISH HISTOEY. 

By Miss Rodwell, Author of ‘‘First Steps to English 
History.” With Ten Illustrations by Weigall. 16mo, 
3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. 6d. coloured. 

“It is the first popular book in which we have seen the outlines of the 
early history of the Scottish tribes exhibited with anything like accuracy.” 
—Glasgow Constitutional. 

“ The work is throughout agreeably and lucidly written.”— Midland 
Counties Herald. 

























28 GRIFFITH AND FARR AN, 


LONDON CRIES AND PUBLIC EDIFICES, 

Illustrated in Twenty-four Engravings by Luke Limner ; 
with descriptive Letter-press. Square 12mo, 2s. 6d. plain ; 
5s. coloured. Bound in emblematic cover. 


THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE; 

Or, Points and Pickings op Information about China 
and the Chinese. By the late “Old Humphrey.” With 
Twenty Engravings. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth ; 4s. gilt edges. 

“ The book is exactly what the author proposed it should be, full of good 
information, good feeling, and good temper.”— Allen’s Indian Mail. 

“ Even well-known topics are treated with a graceful air of novelty.”— 
Athenaeum. 


TALES FROM THE COURT OE OBERON: 

Containing the favourite Histories of Tom Thumb, Graciosa 
and Percinet, Valentine and Orson, and Children in 
the Wood. With Sixteen Illustrations by Alfred Crow- 
quill. Small 4to, 2s. 6d. plain; 8s. 6d. coloured. 


GLIMPSES OE NATURE, 

And Objects of Interest described, during a Visit to 
the Isle of Wight. Designed to assist and encourage 
Young Persons in forming habits of Observation. By Mrs. 
Loudon. Second Edition, enlarged. With Forty-one Illus¬ 
trations. 3s. 6d. cloth. 

“We could not recommend a more valuable little volume. It is full of 
information, conveyed in the moat agreeable manner .”—Literary Gazette. 


THE SILVER SWAN: 

A Fairy Tale. By Madame de Chatelain. Illustrated by 
John Leech. Small 4 to, 2s. 6d. plain; 3s. 6d. coloured cloth. 

“ The moral is in the good, broad, unmistakeable style of the best fairy 
period.”— Athenaeum. 

“ The story is written with excellent taste and sly humour.”— Atlas. 

























SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 29 


WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF MAMMA’S BIBLE STORIES. 

FANNY AND HER MAMMA; 

Or, Easy Lessons for Children. In which it is attempted 
to bring Scriptural Principles into Daily Practice. Illus¬ 
trated byJ. Gilbert. Third Edition. 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth ; 
3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

“ A little book in beautiful large clear type, to suit the capacity of infant 
readers, which we can with pleasure recommend .”—Christian Lady’s Mag. 


SHORT AND SIMPLE PRAYERS 

Eor the Use of Young Children, with Hymns. Fifth 
Edition. Square 16mo, Is. 6d. cloth. 

“ Well adapted to the capacities of children,—beginning with the simplest 
forms which the youngest child may lisp at its mother’s knee, and proceeding 
with those suited to its gradually advancing age. Special prayers, designed 
for particular circumstances and occasions, are added. We cordially recom¬ 
mend the book .”—Christian Guardian. 

MAMMA’S BIBLE STORIES 

For her Little Boys and Girls, adapted to the capacities 
of very young children. Eleventh Edition, with Twelve En¬ 
gravings. 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

A SEQUEL TO MAMMA’S BIBLE STORIES. 

Fifth and Cheaper Edition. With Twelve Illustrations, 
2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

SCRIPTURE HISTORIES EOR LITTLE CHILDREN. 

With Sixteen Illustrations by John Gilbert. Super¬ 
royal 16mo, price 3s. cloth; 4s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 


contents: 


The History of Joseph. 
History of Moses. 


History of our Saviour. 
The Miracles of Christ. 


* * 

#• 


Sold separately: 6d. each, plain; Is. coloured. 


BIBLE SCENES; 

Or, Sunday Employment for very Young Children. 
Consisting of Twelve Coloui-ed Illustrations on Cards, and 
the History written in Simple Language. In a neat Box, 
3s. 6d.; or dissected as a Puzzle, 6s. 6d. 


First Series: History of Joseph. 
Second Series : History of our 
Saviour. 


Third Series: History of Moses. 
Fourth Series: The Miracles 
of Christ. 


“It is hoped that these ‘ Scenes 5 may form a useful and interesting addi¬ 
tion to the Sabbath occupations of the Nursery. From their very earliest 
infancy little children will listen with interest and delight to stories brought 
thus palpably before their eyes by means of illustration.”— Preface. 






30 GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


RHODA ; 

Or, The Excellence of Charity. Fourth Edition. With 
Illustrations. 16mo, 2s. cloth. 

“Not only adapted for children, but many parents might derive great 
advantage from studying its simple truths .”—Church and State Gazette. 

TRUE STORIES FROM ANCIENT HISTORY, 

Chronologically arranged from the Creation of the World to 
the Death of Charlemagne. Twelfth Edition. With 24 
Steel Engravings. 12mo, 5s. cloth. 

TRUE STORIES FROM MODERN HISTORY, 

Chronologically arranged from the Death of Charlemagne 
to the Present Time. Eighth Edition. With 24 Steel 
Engravings. 12mo, 5s. cloth. 

MRS. TRIMMER’S HISTORY 0E ENGLAND. 

Revised and brought down to the Present Time by Mrs. 
Milner. With Portraits of the Sovereigns in their proper 
costume, and Frontispiece by Harvey. New Edition in 
One Volume. 5s. cloth. 

“ The editing has been very judiciously done. The work has an esta¬ 
blished reputation for the clearness of its genealogical and chronological 
tables, and for its pervading tone of Christian piety .”—Church and State 
Gazette. 

STORIES FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, 

On an improved plan. By the Rev. Bourne Hall Draper. 
With 48 Engravings. Sixth Edition. 12mo, 5s. cloth. 

THE WARS OF THE JEWS, 

As related by Josephus ; adapted to the capacities of Young 
Persons. With 24 Engravings. Sixth Edit. 4s. 6d, cloth. 

THE PRINCE OF WALES’S PRIMER. 

With 300 Illustrations by J. Gilbert. Dedicated to Her 
Majesty. New Edition, price 6d .; with title and cover 
printed in gold and colours, Is. 

HOW TO BE HAPPY; 

Or, Fairy Gifts i to which is added, A SELECTION OF 
MORAL ALLEGORIES, from the best English Writers. 
Second Edition. With 8 Engravings. 12mo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
















SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS 









THE ABBE GAULTIER’S GEOGRAPHICAL WORKS. 


I. FAMILIAR GEOGRAPHY, 

With a concise Treatise on the Artificial Sphere, and two 
coloured Maps, illustrative of the principal Geographical 
Terms. Fifteenth Edition. 16mo, 3s. cloth. 

II. AN ATLAS, 

Adapted to the Abbe Gaultier’s Geographical Games, con¬ 
sisting of 8 Maps, coloured, and 7 in Outline, &c. Folio, 
15s. half-bound. 






BUTLER’S 


OUTLINE 



AND KEY; 


Or, Geographical and Biographical Exercises ; with a Set 
of Coloured Outline Maps; designed for the Use of Young 
Persons. By the late William Butler. Enlarged by the 
Author’s Son, J. 0. Butler. Thirty-second Edition, revised. 
Price 4s. 


BATTLE-FIELDS. 

A graphic Guide to the Places described in the History of 
England as the scenes of such Events ; with the situation of 
the principal Naval Engagements fought on the Coast of the 
British Empire. By Mr. Wauthier, Geographer. On a 
large sheet, 3s. 6d.; in case, 6s .; or mounted on rollers, var¬ 
nished, 9s. 


TABULAR VIEWS OF THE GEOGRAPHY AND SACRED 


HISTORY OF PALESTINE, & OF THE TRAVELS 
OF ST. PAUL. Intended for Pupil Teachers, and others 
engaged in Class Teaching. By A. T White. Oblong 8vo, 
price Is. sewed. 


THE CHILD’S GRAMMAR. 

By the late Lady Fenn, under the assumed name of Mrs. 
Lovechild. Forty-ninth Edition. 18mo, 9d. cloth. 

ROWBOTHAM’S NEW AND EASY METHOD OF LEARN¬ 

ING the FRENCH GENDERS. New Edition. 6d. 


BELLENGER’S FRENCH WORD AND PHRASE-BOOK; 

Containing a select Vocabulary and Dialogues, for the Use 
of Beginners. New Edition, Is. sewed. 

DER SCHWATZER; 

Or, The Prattler. An amusing Introduction to the Ger¬ 
man Language, on the Plan of “ Le Babillard.” With 16 
Illustrations. Price 2s. cloth. 

















GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


32 


ALWAYS HAPLY; 

Or, Anecdotes of Felix and his Sister Serena. By the 
Author of “Claudine,” &c. Eighteenth Edition, with new 
Illustrations. Royal 18mo, price 2s. 6d. cloth. 

ANDERSEN’S (H. C.) NIGHTINGALE AND OTHER TALES, j 

2s. 6d. plain ; 3s. 6d. coloured. 

ANECDOTES OF KINGS, 

Selected from History ; or, Gertrude’s Stories for Children. 
New Edition. With Engravings. 2s. 6d. plain; 3s. 6d. 
coloured. 

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS; 

Or, a Description of Manners and Customs peculiar to 
the East. By the Bev. B. H. Draper. With Engravings. 
Fourth Edition. Revised by Dr. Kitto. 3s. 6d. cloth. 

THE BRITISH HISTORY BRIEFLY TOLD, 

And a Description of the Ancient Customs, Sports, and 
Pastimes of the English. Embellished with full-length 
Portraits of the Sovereigns of England in their proper 
Costumes, and 18 other Engravings. 3s. 6d. cloth. 

CHIT-CHAT; 

Or, Short Tales in Short Words. By a Mother, Author 
of “Always Happy.” Eighth Edition. With New En¬ 
gravings. 2s. 6d. cloth ; 3s. 6d. coloured, gilt edges. 

CONVERSATIONS ON THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST, 

For the Use of Children. By a Mother. A New Edition. 
With 12 Engravings. 2s. 6d. plain ; 3s. Cd. coloured. 

COSiMORAMA. 

The Manners, Customs, and Costumes of all Nations of the 
World described. By J. Aspin. New Edition, with nume¬ 
rous Illustrations. 3s. 6d. plain; and 4s. 6d. coloured. 

INFANTINE KNOWLEDGE; 

A Spelling and Beading Book, on a Popular Plan, combining 
much Useful Information with the Rudiments of Learning. I 
By the Author of ‘‘ The Child’s Grammar. ” With nume¬ 
rous Engravings. Ninth Edit. 2s. 6d. .plain; 3s. 6d. col. 

FACTS TO CORRECT FANCIES; 

Or, Short Narratives compiled from the Biography of 
Remarkable Women. By a Mother. With Engravings. 

3s. 6d. plain; 4s. 6d. coloured. 



























SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AN L) HARRIS. 33 

j FRUITS OF ENTERPRISE, 

Exhibited in the Travels of Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia. 
Thirteenth Edition, with six Illustrations by Birket Foster. 
18mo, price 3s. cloth. 

| TEE GARDEN; 

Or, Frederick’s Monthly Instructions for the Management 
and Formation of a Flower-Garden. Fourth Edition. 
With Engravings of the Flowers in Bloom for each Month 
in the Year, &c. 3s. bd. plain ; orb's, with the Flowers col. 

EASY LESSONS; 

Or, Leading-Strings to Knowledge. New Edition, with 
8 Engravings. 2s. 6d. plain ; 3s. bd. coloured. 

' KEY TO KNOWLEDGE; I 

Or, Things in Common Use simply and shortly explained. 

By a Mother, Author of “Always Happy,” &c. Thirteenth 
Edition. With Sixty Illustrations. 3s. bd. cloth. 

THE LADDER TO LEARNING: ! 

A Collection of Fables, Original and Select, arranged pro¬ 
gressively in words of One, Two, and Three Syllables. Edited 
and improved by the late Mrs. Trimmer. With 79 Cuts, j 
Nineteenth Edition. 3s. bd. cloth. 

LITTLE LESSONS FOR LITTLE LEARNERS, 

In Words of One Syllable. By Mrs. Barwell. Ninth 
Edit., with numerous Illustrations. 2s. bd. plain; 3s. bd. col. 

THE LITTLE READER; j 

A Progressive Step to Knowledge. Fourth Edition, with 
sixteen Plates. Price 2s. bd. cloth. 

MAMMA’S LESSONS 

For her Little Boys and Girls. Thirteenth Edition,with eight 
Engravings. Price 2s. bd. cloth ; 3s. bd. coloured, gilt 
edges. 



Or, Subterranean Wonders. An Account of the Operations 
of the Miner, and the Products of his Labours. By the late 
Rev. Isaac Taylor. Sixth Edition, with numerous cor¬ 
rections and additions, by Mrs. Loudon. With 45 Wood- 
cuts and lb Steel Engravings. 3s. bd. cloth. 



















GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 


34 


THE OCEAN: 

A Description of Wonders and important Products of the 
Sea. Second Edition. With Illustrations of 37 Genera of 
Shells, by Sowerby; and 4 Steel and 50 Wood Engravings. 

3s. 6d. cloth. 

THE RIVAL CRUSOES, 

And other Tales. By Agnes Strickland, Author of “The 
Queens of England.” Sixth Edition. Price 2s. 6d. cloth. 

SHORT TALES, ! 

Written for Children. By Dame Truelove and her Friends. , 
A new Edition, with 20 Engravings. 3s. 6d. cloth. 

THE STUDENTS; 

Or, Biographies of the Grecian Philosophers. 12mo, price 
2s. 6d. cloth. 

STORIES OF EDWARD AND HIS LITTLE FRIENDS. 

With 12 Illustrations. Second Edit. 3s. 6d. plain; 4s. 6d. col. 


SUNDAY LESSONS EOR LITTLE CHILDREN. 

By Mrs. Barwell. Fourth Edition. 2s. 6d. plain; 3s. col. 


A VISIT TO GROVE COTTAGE, 

And the India Cabinet Opened. By the Author of “ Fruits 
of Enterprise. ” New Edition. 18mo, price 3s. cloth. 


DISSECTIONS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. 

In a Neat Box. Price 5s. each. 

1. Scenes from the Lives of Joseph and Moses. 

2. Scenes from the History of Our Saviour. 

8. Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog. 

4. The Life and Death of Cock Robin. 


TWO SHILLINGS EACH, CLOTH. 

With Frontispiece, (be. 


DER SCHWATZER : an 
amusing Introduction to the 
German Language. 16 plates. 

LE BABILLARD; an amus¬ 
ing Introduction to the 
French Language. 16 plates. 
Sixth Edition. 


COUNSELS AT HOME; 

with Anecdotes, Tales, &c. 
MORAL TALES. By a Fa¬ 
ther. With 2 Engravings. 
ANECDOTES OF PETER 
THE GREAT, Emperor of 
Russia. 18mo. 

























SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS. 35 


ONE SHILLING AND SIXPENCE EACH. CLOTH. 


THE DAUGHTER OF A 
GENIUS. By Mrs. Hof- 

LAND. 

ELLEN THE TEACHER. 
By Mrs. Hofland. 

THE SON OF A GENIUS. 
By Mrs. Hofland. 


THEODORE ; or, the Cru¬ 
saders. By Mrs. Hofland. 

TRIMMER’S (MRS.) OLD 
TESTAMENT LESSONS. 
With 40 Engravings. 

TRIMMER’S (MRS.) NEW 
TESTAMENT LESSONS. 
With 40 Engravings. 


ONE SHILLING EACH, CLOTH. 




SPRING FLOWERS and the 
MONTHLY MONITOR, 

THE CHILD’S DUTY. 


The HISTORY of PRINCE 
LEE BOO. Twentieth 
Edition. 


Price Is. ' plain , Is. 6 d . coloured cloth . 


THE DAISY. Twenty-seventh 
Edition. With Thirty En¬ 
gravings. 


THE COWSLIP. Twenty- 
fourth Edition. With 
Thirty Engravings. 


DURABLE NURSERY BOOKS, 

MOUNTED ON CLOTH, WITH COLOURED PLATES, 

ONE SHILLING EACH. 


1 Alphabet of Goody Two- 

Shoes. 

2 Cinderella. 

3 Cock Robin. 

4 Courtship of Jenny 

Wren. 

5 Dame Trot and her Cat. 

6 History of an Apple Pie, 

7 House that Jack built. 


8 Little Rhymes for Little 
Folks. 

! 9 Mother Hubbard. 

10 Monkey’s Frolic. 

11 Old Woman and her Pig. 

12 Puss in Boots. 

13 Tommy Trip’s Museum of 

Birds, Part I. 

14 ——-p ar t II. 


DURABLE BOOKS FOR SUNDAY READING. 

Price 6d. each. 

SCENES FROM THE LIVES OF JOSEPH AND MOSES. 
With Illustrations by John Gilbert. Printed on Linen. 

SCENES FROM THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR. 
With Illustrations by John Gilbert. Printed on Linen. 





























36 PUBLISHED BY GRIFFITH AND FARR AN 


ONE THOUSAND ARITHMETICAL TESTS ; 

Or, the Examiner’s Assistant, specially adapted, by a Novel 
Arrangement of the Subject, for Examination Purposes, but 
also suited for general Use in Schools. By T. S. CAYZER, 
Head Master of Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, Bristol. Second 
Edition, revised and stereotyped. 12mo, price Is. <3d. cloth. 

Answers to the above, price Is. 6d. cloth. 

ONE THOUSAND ALGEBRAIC TESTS, 

On the same plan. By T. S. Cayzer. 8vo, price 3s. cloth. 
Answers to the above, 2s. 6d. 


DARNELL’S EDUCATIONAL WORKS. 


The attention of all interested in the subject of Education is 
invited to these Works, now in extensive use throughout the 
Kingdom, prepared by Mr. Darnell, a Schoolmaster of many 
years’ experience. 

1. COPY BOOKS.—A sure and certain road to a Good 

Handwriting, gradually advancing from the Simple 
Stroke to a superior Small-hand. 

Large Post, Sixteen Numbers, 6d. each. 

Foolscap, Twenty Numbers, to which are added three Sup¬ 
plementary Numbers of Angular Writing for Ladies, and one 
of Ornamental Hands. Price 3d. each. 

%* This series may also be had on very superior paper, marble covers, 
4 d. each. 

“ For teaching writing I would recommend the use of Darnell’s Copy 
Books. I have noticed a marked improvement wherever they have been 
used.”— Report of Mr. Mayo (National School Organizer of Schools) to the 
Worcester Diocesan Board of Education . 

2. GRAMMAR made intelligible to Children, Is. cloth. 

3. ARITHMETIC made intelligible to Children, Is. 6d. cloth. 

*** Key to Parts 2 and 3, price Is. cloth. 

4. READING, a Short and Certain Road to, price 6d. cloth. 
GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, CORNER OF ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD. 


Savill aud Edwards, Printers, Chandos Street, Covent Garden. 





















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